Bodega Marine Reserve is a
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
and
marine reserve
A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...
on the coast of northern
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, located in the vicinity of the Bodega Marine Laboratory on
Bodega Head. It is a unit of the
University of California Natural Reserve System
The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California. The reserves support UC's mission of teaching, research, and public service. Unlike national and state parks, they are not availab ...
, administered by the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
.
Along California's north central coast, BMR is the only marine area protected for research and education.
Features
The reserve is adjacent to
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
and the open
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, on a peninsula in rural western
Sonoma County
Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
.
Natural hazards of the area include high cliffs, sleeper waves,
white sharks,
poison oak Poison oak refers to two plant species in the genus '' Toxicodendron,'' both of which can cause skin irritation:
*'' Toxicodendron diversilobum'' or Pacific poison oak, found in western North America
*'' Toxicodendron pubescens'' or Atlantic po ...
,
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of ''Borrelia'' bacteria, Disease vector, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. It is the most common disease spread by ticks in th ...
,
hantavirus
''Orthohantavirus'' is a genus of viruses that includes all hantaviruses (family ''Hantaviridae'') that cause disease in humans. Orthohantaviruses, hereafter referred to as hantaviruses, are naturally found primarily in rodents. In general, each ...
,
skunk
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...
s, and
mountain lions.
See also
*
California coastal prairie
California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. This ecosystem is found along the Pacific Coast, from as f ...
*
Northern coastal scrub
Northern coastal scrub is a diverse scrubland plant community found along the Pacific Coast from Northern California to Southern Oregon, as well as some offshore islands. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with California coastal prairie, coast ...
*
California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
The California coastal sage and chaparral () is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part o ...
References
External links
*
Marine reserves of the United States
Protected areas of Sonoma County, California
University of California, Davis
University of California Natural Reserve System
Bodega Bay
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