Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is on the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

coast in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

and is bordered by Oceanside to the south, San Clemente and Orange County to the north, Riverside County to the northeast, and

Fallbrook Fallbrook is a CDP in northern San Diego County, California. Fallbrook had a population of 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census. Fallbrook's downtown is not on a major highway route. It is west of Interstate 15 or n ...

to the east. The base was established in 1942 to train U.S. Marines for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. By October 1944, Camp Pendleton was declared a "permanent installation," and by 1946 it became the home of the 1st Marine Division. It was named after Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton (1860–1942), who had long advocated setting up a training base for the Marine Corps on the West Coast. Today it is home to myriad Operating Force units, including the I Marine Expeditionary Force and various training commands.

History

Prior to World War II

In 1769, a Spanish expedition led by Captain

Gaspar de Portolá Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish military officer, best known for leading the Portolá expedition into California and for serving as the first Governor of the Californias. His expedition laid t ...

explored northward from Loreto, Baja California Sur, seeking to reach Monterey Bay, something never before done overland by Europeans. On July 20 of that year, the expedition arrived in the area now known as Camp Pendleton, and as it was the feast day of St. Margaret, they christened the land in the name of Santa Margarita. The expedition went on to establish military outposts and

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

missions at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and Monterey. During the next 30 years, 21 missions were established, the most productive one being Mission San Luis Rey, just south of the present-day Camp Pendleton. At that time, San Luis Rey Mission had control over the Santa Margarita area. After 1821, following the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

from Spain, some of the former members of the Portolà expedition who had stayed on (mostly garrison soldiers) were awarded large

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s (''ranchos'') by Mexican governors. The retired soldiers were joined as ''rancheros'' by prominent businessmen, officials, and military leaders. They and their children, the

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sin ...

s, became the landed gentry of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

. In 1841, two brothers, Pio Pico and

Andrés Pico Andrés Pico (November 18, 1810 – February 14, 1876) was a Californio who became a successful rancher, fought in the contested Battle of San Pascual during the Mexican–American War, and negotiated promises of post-war protections for Calif ...

, became the first private owners of Rancho Santa Margarita. More land was later added to the grant, giving it the name of

Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores was a Mexican land grant in present-day northwestern San Diego County, California given by governor Juan Alvarado in 1841 to Andrés Pico and Pio Pico. The grant was located along the Pacific coast, and en ...

, which stayed with the ranch until the Marine Corps acquired it in 1942. The design of the ranch's cattle brand is seen in the base's logo today. In 1863, an Englishman named

John (Don Juan) Forster Don Juan Forster (born ''John''; 1814 – February 20, 1882) was an English-born Californio ranchero and merchant. Born in England, he emigrated to Mexico at age 16 and became a Mexican citizen. Soon after, he moved to California (then a provi ...

(Pio Pico's brother-in-law) paid off Pico's gambling debts in return for the deed to the ranch. During his tenure as owner, he expanded the ranch house, built in 1827, and developed the rancho into a thriving cattle industry. Forster's heirs were forced to sell the ranch in 1882 because of a series of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s and a fence law that forced Forster to construct fencing around the extensive rancho lands. It was purchased by wealthy cattleman James Clair Flood and managed by Irishman Richard O'Neill, who was eventually rewarded for his faithful service with half ownership. Under the guidance of O'Neill's son, Jerome, the ranch made a profit of nearly half a million dollars annually, and the house was modernized and refurnished.

World War II

In the early 1940s, both the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and the Marine Corps were looking for land for a large training base. The Army lost interest in the project, but in February 1942 it was announced that the of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores would be transformed into the largest Marine Corps base in the country. It was named for Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton who had long advocated the establishment of a West Coast training base. Construction began in April as a temporary facility built to minimum standards of wood frame construction. After five months of furious building activity, the

9th Marine Regiment The 9th Marine Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War II, it served until 1994, when it was deactivated during the post Cold War drawdown. Battalions of the Ninth Marine Regiment, but not ...

, under then Colonel

Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. Lemuel Cornick Shepherd Jr. (February 10, 1896 – August 6, 1990) was a four-star general of the United States Marine Corps. A veteran of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, he was the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. As C ...

, marched from

Camp Elliott Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen ...

in San Diego to Camp Pendleton to be the first troops to occupy the new base. On September 25, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the base. Wartime training facilities at the base included

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

school, amphibious tractor school, beach battalion school, amphibious communications school, Naval Construction Battalion Training Center1. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Installations-West, Installation Histories, USMC Official website p.2,

/ref> and a medical field service school at the naval hospital at Santa Margarita Ranch, now Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. The facility was used as a discharge base for soldiers returning from Europe and Asia after World War II ended in 1945.

Post-World War II

During the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, $20 million helped expand and upgrade existing facilities, including the construction of Camp Horno. When Camp Pendleton trained the country's fighting force for the Korean and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

s, approximately 200,000 Marines passed through the base on their way to the Far East. Beginning in 1954, Camp Pendleton has hosted a variation of Basic Training familiarization for teenagers age 14 to 17. This training, called "Devil Pups", promotes physical fitness, instills discipline and promotes love of country and the Marine Corps. The camp's stables display a plaque and statue commemorating a horse, Sergeant Reckless, which served with the Marine Corps in Korea. In 1975 Camp Pendleton was the first U.S. military base to provide accommodations for Vietnamese evacuees in

Operation New Arrivals Operation New Arrivals (April 29 – September 16, 1975) was the relocation of 130,000 Vietnamese refugees from Pacific island staging areas to the United States. Following the South-Vietnamese evacuation during the Fall of Saigon, Operation N ...

. Over 50,000 refugees came to the base in the largest humanitarian airlift in history. Camp Pendleton has continued to grow through renovations, replacing its original tent camps with more than 2,626 buildings and over 500 miles of roads. Preservation of Camp Pendleton heritage and Marine Corps history is ongoing. The original ranch house has been declared a National Historic Site as well as the Las Flores Adobe.

21st century

The base's diverse geography, spanning over , plays host to year-round training for Marines in addition to all other branches of the U.S. military. Amphibious and sea-to-shore training takes place at several key points along the base's of coastline. The main base is in the Mainside Complex, at the southeastern end of the base, and the remote northern interior is an impact area. Daytime population is around 100,000. Recruits from nearby Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego spend four weeks at Pendleton's Edson Range receiving field training; after graduating from recruit training, newly minted Marines return to the base's

School of Infantry A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

for further training. Camp Pendleton remains the last major undeveloped portion of the California coastline south of Santa Barbara, save for a few relatively small state parks. In 2015 the site was proposed for a large civilian airport. Since August 2004, Camp Pendleton has been one of five locations in the Department of Defense to operate the

Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System The Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) is an air traffic control automation system manufactured by Raytheon and is currently being used in many TRACONs around the United States by the FAA. STARS replaced the Automated Radar ...

(STARS) air radar. The STARS radar allows the facility to simulate air traffic for training purposes. Camp Pendleton's five-man color guard has participated in many sporting events in

and at the 1996 Republican National Convention, accompanying

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

performers. Among the more famous performers who were accompanied by the Camp Pendleton color guard have been

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

, Herb Alpert,

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of ...

, Jewel, Trisha Yearwood and the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) an ...

, all of whom had performed the National Anthem at either a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

game,

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

, or, in Wilson Phillips' case, a

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and Nationa ...

that was played at what is now

SDCCU Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

. In a 2002 letter to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

, Marine Corps Commandant J.L. Jones stated to the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), who operates the toll roads in Orange County, “Frankly, my preference is that the proposed toll road not be constructed on or near Camp Pendleton. This construction is one more encroachment venture that will hinder urability to prepare for war. It will also result in additional losses of natural areas that support endangered species, thus placing an even greater burden on Camp Pendleton to protect the region’s biodiversity.” In 2008, after the rejection of the proposed toll road extension of SR 241 through San Onofre State Beach Park for environmental reasons, the TCA filed for permission to build on the northwestern portion of the base. A spokesman for Camp Pendleton denied the request in 2010, stating that they could only allow the toll road to run through the San Onofre State Beach Park because their training missions could not be completed without the proposed land. In fact, the California gnatcatcher, an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, resides on the northwestern portion of the base. The TCA funded a study in 2013 to remove the California gnatcatcher from the endangered species list, which would have made it easier to negotiate the construction and planning of the 241's extension through the San Onofre State Beach Park.

Areas of Camp Pendleton

Areas 11-16 are collectively known as "Mainside." * 11 Area: Serra Mesa Housing, Paige Field House * 12 Area: Combat Logistics Battalion 1,

Combat Logistics Battalion 13 Combat Logistics Battalion 13 (CLB-13) is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. In garrison, it falls under the command of Combat Logistics Regiment 17 and the 1st Marine Logistics Group; however, when deployed, it forms the ...

* 13 Area: 1st Marine Division headquarters,

1st Marine Logistics Group The 1st Marine Logistics Group (1st MLG) is a logistics unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, with several subordinate elements also located at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma a ...

;

9th Communications Battalion 9th Communication Battalion (9th Comm) is a communications battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It is part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) and is headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Subordinate unit ...

;

1st Dental Battalion The 1st Dental Battalion is a Fleet Marine Force unit of the United States Navy. The battalion includes fifteen dental clinics spread throughout California and Arizona. The unit is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and falls under ...

; Marine Corps Installations West Headquarters; Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton * 14 Area:

Combat Logistics Regiment 1 Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

;

Combat Logistics Regiment 17 Combat Logistics Regiment 17 (formerly designated as Headquarters Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group) is a logistics regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is subordinate to the command of the 1st Marine Logistics Group (1st MLG), I Mari ...

;

7th Engineer Support Battalion The 7th Engineer Support Battalion (7th ESB – "Big Red") is an engineering support unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The unit falls under the command of 1st Marine Logis ...

* 15 Area: Security & Emergency Services Battalion, Marine Corps Police Department * 16 Area: 1st Radio Battalion; 1st Intelligence Battalion; 1st EOD Company; 1st Topographic Platoon * 17 Area: San Luis Rey Housing * 18 Area
Marine Memorial Golf Course
* 20 Area: MCX, Commissary
Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Pacific Views Event Center
* 21 Area (Camp Del Mar): I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters;

3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion (3rd AABn) is one of two active duty assault amphibian battalions in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion's primary weapon system is the Amphibious Assault Vehicle or AAV. The AAV is a 27.5-ton armored ve ...

;

Combat Logistics Battalion 5 Combat Logistics Battalion 5 (CLB-5) is a Military logistics, logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. CLB-5 is a subordinate battalion to Combat Logistics Regiment 1 and the 1st Marine Logistics Group. The unit is based out of the ...

; Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch; Field Medical Training Battalion, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit * 22 Area (Camp Chappo): 1st Supply Battalion; 1st Medical Battalion * 23 Area ( MCAS Camp Pendleton):

Marine Aircraft Group 39 Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California that is currently composed of four AH-1Z "Viper" Cobra and UH-1Y "Venom" Huey light attack squadrons, two MV-2 ...

* 24 Area (Camp Pico): Marine Aircraft Group 39 Barracks; Base Brig * 25 Area (Camp Vado Del Rio): Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 * 26 Area: Lake O'Neill, DeLuz Housing * 27 Area (Naval Hospital)
Mental Health Clinic
, American Red Cross, Naval Hospital Barracks * 31A Area ( Edson Range): Weapons & Field Training Battalion * 31B Area: Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity * 31C Area:

Assault Craft Unit 5 Assault Craft Unit 5 (ACU 5) is the United States Navy's Pacific operating unit for the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC). Headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, their mission is transporting, ship-to-shore and across th ...

* 32 Area:

Marine Air Support Squadron 3 Marine Air Support Squadron 3 (MASS-3), is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit that provides the Direct Air Support Center (DASC) for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. They are based out of the 32 Area on Marine Corp ...

, 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Squadron 1 Det A * 33 Area (Camp Margarita): 1st Marine Division Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Training Information Management System training facility, 1st Marine Division Band * 41 Area (Camp Las Flores): 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion;

1st Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (abbreviated as 1st Recon Bn) is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It is a stand-alone battalion with no parent regiment. Instead, it falls directly under the command of the 1st Marine ...

;

4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (4th LARB) is a fast and mobilized armored terrestrial reconnaissance battalion of the United States Marine Corps reserve. Their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 and they are part of the 4th Marine Di ...

, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Marine Raider Battalion,

4th Tank Battalion 4th Tank Battalion (4th Tanks) is an armored battalion of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Their primary weapon system is the M1 Abrams, M1A1 Abrams main battle tank and they are part of the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve. Th ...

* 43 Area (

Camp Las Pulgas Camp Las Pulgas also called 43 Area Camp Pendleton is subcamp of Camp Pendleton, California. The camp was built during World War 2. The camp was used for training US Marines before departing to the Pacific War. It also housed them after retur ...

): 11th Marine Regiment;

1st Maintenance Battalion The 1st Maintenance Battalion is a battalion of the United States Marine Corps that provides intermediate-level maintenance for the I Marine Expeditionary Force's tactical ordnance, engineer, motor transport, communications electronics and gen ...

* 51 Area (Camp San Onofre): San Onofre Housing * 52 Area (School of Infantry): United States Marine Corps School of Infantry * 53 Area (Camp Horno): 1st Marine Regiment * 62 Area (Camp San Mateo):

5th Marine Regiment The 5th Marine Regiment (also referred to as "5th Marines") is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the most highly decorated regiment in the Marine Corps and falls u ...

;

1st Combat Engineer Battalion 1st Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The unit, nicknamed "The Super Breed", is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Divis ...

* 63 Area (Camp Christianitos)
Naval Expeditionary Medical Training Institute

La Christianita Historic Site
* 64 Area (Camp Talega): Deployment Processing Command / Reserve Support Unit (West);

VMU-4 Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 4 (VMU-4) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron in the United States Marine Corps that operates the RQ-21 Blackjack. It is the fourth UAV squadron in the Marine Corps and the first in the reserve c ...

Ecology

Camp Pendleton was built on a wide swath of coastal land that once supported an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

at the mouth of the Santa Margarita River and extensive

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

habitat. Outlying land within the base is made up of

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, oak woodlands,

coastal dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

and bluffs,

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

, and several types of wetlands, including ephemeral wetlands such as vernal pools.Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan.
USMC.

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

is not uncommon. Research in ecology takes place on undeveloped areas of the base, which contain examples of rare and endangered California habitat types. The Department of Defense has issued management plans for various ecosystems on this territory. Land within the base still includes breeding habitat for birds such as the western snowy plover and California gnatcatcher. The coastal bluffs have many of the few existing specimens of the Pendleton button-celery, which was named for the base.California Native Plant Society: ''E. pendletonensis''
/ref> Rare mammals on the base include the Pacific pocket mouse and Stephens's kangaroo rat.

Bison

Fourteen

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...

were introduced from the San Diego Zoo between 1973 and 1979. They roam the Delta and Charlie training areas, Zulu Impact Area and Case Springs on the base. In early 2021, there were around 90 adults, and 14 calves were expected in April.

References

External links

Camp Pendleton
(official site)

(GlobalSecurity.org)
Marine Corps Community Services at Camp Pendleton

Historical Society

Camp Pendleton Personnel/Vets Locator

Camp Pendleton Base Overview & PCS Information
(MarineCorpsUSA.org)
Image of a Vietnamese mother and children in a tent at a refugee camp at Camp Pendleton, California, 1975.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

. ** {{Authority control Pendleton Military facilities in San Diego County, California Military Superfund sites Military units and formations established in 1942 Military installations in California Pendleton North County (San Diego County) Superfund sites in California 1942 establishments in California