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Except where otherwise noted, all images that appear in Wonders of the Sea Volume Three: Hidden Treasures of California’s Far North Coast are by Marc Shargel.
© Marc Shargel / LivingSeaimages.com
On the Cover: Brown sea nettles, Chrysaora fuscescens. Nose Rock, near Elk.
Insets on cover, at left, from top to bottom: Female kelp greenling, Hexagrammos decagrammus, Laguna Point, near Fort Bragg. Fish-eating anemone, Urticina piscivora, Nose Rock, near Elk. Juvenile wolf eel, Anarrhichthys ocellatus, Trinidad Bay (thanks to Rich Alvarez for finding it). Rock scallop, Crassadoma gigantea, with anemone, Metridium senile, and nudibranch, Flabellina trilineata, Reading Rock.
Back cover: California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, on a wash rock just outside of Trinidad Bay.
Inset: The author with a brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Trinidad Bay, Photo by Rich Alvarez.
Back flap: The author on a deep dive in Point Lobos State Marine Reserve with a rebreather and redundant scuba units. © Alan Studley / adventure@interx.net
Page 3: Behind the Table of Contents, giant green anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, Trinidad head.
Page 4: Reef scene featuring a sun star, Solaster stimpsoni, Nose Rock, near Elk.
Page 5: Clown nudibranch, Triopha catalinae, and brachiopod, Terebratalia transversa. Trinidad Bay.
Page 6: Nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis, laying eggs, Shelter Cove.
Page 7: View toward Agate Beach from Wedding Rock, Patrick’s Point State Park.
Page 8: Ochre stars, Pisaster ochraceus, and barnacles, Balanus sp., North jetty, mouth of Humboldt Bay.
Page 10: Orca whale, Orcinus orca, off Fort Bragg,
© Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 11: Saint George Reef lighthouse, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 12: Upper left, black rockfish, Sebastes melanops, Beaver Point, Mendocino County. Upper right, fish-eating anemone Urticina piscivora, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg. Lower left, gopher rockfish, Sebastes camatus, Beaver Point. Lower right, strawberry anemones, Corynactis californica, Shelter Cove.
Page 13: Red sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, Prisoner Rock, Trinidad Bay.
Page 14: Gray whale eye, Eschrichtius robustus, San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California Sur, Mexico,
© Michael S. Nolan / SeaPics.com. (These are the same gray whales that migrate and spend sum-mers along the north coast and winter in Baja.)
Page 15: Steller sea lions, Eumetopias jubatus, off Fort Bragg, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 16: Pelagic cormorants, Phalacrocorax pelagicus, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 17: Rocky reef scene featuring plume anemones, Metridium giganteum, strawberry anemones, Corynactis californica, on acorn barnacles, Balanus nubilis, and two yellow tunicates, Shelter Cove.
Page 18: Chinook or king salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Rogue River, Oregon,
© Mark Conlin / SeaPics.com
Page 19: Above, moon jelly, Aurelia labiata, Elk (Mendocino Co.). Below, “young of the year” rockfish including widow rockfish, Sebastes entomelas, Shelter Cove.
Page 20: Tube worms, Serpula vermicularis, Trinidad Bay.
Page 21: Tufted puffin, Fratercula cirrhata, SE Farallon Island, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 22: Rafting sea lions, probably a mix of California sea lions Zalophus californianus, and Steller sea lions, Eumetopias jubatus, Reading Rock.
Page 23: Family boogie boarding at Trinidad State Beach.
Page 24: Quillback rockfish, Sebastes maliger, San Juan Islands, WA.
Page 25: Spotted rose anemone, Urticina lofotensis, close up of the mouth, possibly after disgorging the remains of a meal, Laguna Point, Mendocino County.
Page 26: Mist over Freshwater Lagoon, Humboldt Lagoons State Park, © Art Barab
Page 27: A family outing near Sharp Point, on the beach near Dry Lagoon, Humboldt Lagoons State Park.
Page 28: Above, smooth velvet snails, Velutina prolongata, Laguna Point, north of Noyo Harbor. Below, a smooth velvet snail with gammarid amphipod, Parapleustes oculatus, Trinidad Bay. Thanks to Gary McDonald of UCSC and Tony Chess for help identifying these rarities.
Page 29: Scenic view of Trinidad Bay with Trinidad Head enshrouded in fog, viewed from the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse.
Page 30: Juvenile wolf eel, Anarrhichthys ocellatus, Trinidad Bay (with thanks to Rich Alvarez).
Page 31: Late afternoon at Clam Beach, to the left of Trinidad Head, in the distance, are Pilot Rock and Flatiron Rock.
Page 32: Above, sunset on Clam Beach. Below, a pair of decorator crabs on an ochre star, Pisaster ochraceus, Nursery Rock, Shelter Cove.
Page 33: A harbor seal, Phoca vitulina, hauled out on an algae covered rock, Little River Headlands,
© Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 34: A bat ray, Myliobatis californica, the same species known to inhabit the north coast including its estuaries. This one was photographed in the clearer water of San Clemente Island.
Page 35: Eelgrass, Zostera marina, Humboldt Bay.
Page 36: Contemporary Yurok ceremonial regalia created by Bonnie Clayton in 1985, Trinidad Museum. Humboldt Bay lies within the traditional lands of the Wiyot people. Their regalia is similar to those made by the Yurok.
Page 37: A thick flock of dunlin, Calidris alpina, on Arcata Marsh in Humboldt Bay, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 38: Looking across the northern part of Humboldt Bay from Arcata Marsh, © Art Barab
Page 39: Left, a family discovers some of the life in Humboldt Bay. Right, an eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, afloat on Trinidad Bay.
Page 40: Aerial view of southern Humboldt Bay, at left center is the Bayshore Mall, beyond that are the towns of King Salmon and Field’s Landing. Thanks to Dr. Tom Johansen for enabling us to get this view.
Page 41: Kayaking past a pair of California sea lion bulls, Zalophus californianus, Woodley Island Marina, Humboldt Bay.
Page 42: Aerial view of Cape Mendocino, looking northward. Thanks to Dr. Tom Johansen.
Page 43: Breaking wave, Little River Headlands,
© Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com
Page 44: Spider crab, Loxorhyncus crispatus, puffball anemones, Metridium senile, and acorn barnacle, Balanus nubilis, Pilot Rock.
Page 45: Hermit crab, Pagurus sp., in the shell of a red turban snail, Lithopoma gibberosum, on sun star, Solaster stimpsoni, Beaver Point.
Page 46: White-lined nudibranch, Dirona albolineata, and orange tunicate, Cnemidocarpa finmarkiensis, Trinidad Bay.
Page 47: Brandt’s cormorants, Phalacrocorax penicillatus, roosting at Point Cabrillo.
Page 48: An opalescent nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis, moving over encrusting red algae and tiny barnacles, Trinidad Bay.
Page 49: Left, a huge “orange peel” nudibranch, Tochuina tetraquetra, Shelter Cove. Right, quillback rockfish, a species seen in Mendocino County, and northward, Sebastes maliger, Bell Island, WA.
Page 50: “Kaluna Cliff Sunset Over The Cloud Ocean,” Douglas firs one mile north of Shelter Cove.
© PGar / http://pgars-local-color.blogspot.com
Page 51: Above, an endangered snowy plover, Charadrius nivosus, feeding on a sand flea, Emerita talpoida, Ten Mile Beach, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com. Below, scalyhead sculpin, Artedius harringtoni, in giant-spined sea star, Pisaster giganteus, Nursery Rock, Shelter Cove.
Page 52: Giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, Hood Canal, Washington state, © Scott Boyd / www.boydski.com
Page 53: Young of the year rockfish of several species including widow rockfish, Sebastes entomelas, in a canyon lined with giant plume anemones, Metridium giganteum, Shelter Cove.
Page 54: Left, young-of-the-year widow rockfish Sebastes entomelas. Right, diving common murre, Uria aalge, both from Shelter Cove, photographed minutes apart.
Page 55: A couple enjoying the sunset at Shelter Cove.
Page 56: Blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus, with plume anemones, Metridium giganteum, and red urchins, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, near Elk, Mendocino Co.
Page 57: Lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus, Beaver Point.
Page 58: Canary rockfish, Sebastes pinniger, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg.
Page 59: Looking out to sea under the arch of the Highway 1 bridge from the beach at Russian Gulch State Park.
Page 60: Historic Point Cabrillo lighthouse and a group of Brandt’s cormorants, Phalacrocorax penicillatus, roosting on an offshore rock.
Page 61: Northern or pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschatkana, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg.
Page 62: Kayakers at Noyo Harbor.
Page 63: Above, Charlie Lorenz of Mendocino Abalone Watch pointing to some a risky behavior. This is a montage of two photographs taken three minutes apart, Mendocino Headland. Below, fifteen red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, appear in the un-cropped original of this 1966 photograph from Mendocino Headland. © Tony Chess.
Page Page 64: A rock scallop, Crassadoma gigantea, behind the tentacles of a spotted rose anemone, Urticina lofotensis, Trinidad Head.
Page Page 65: Above left, three-lined nudibranch, Flabellina trilineata, eating a hydroid, Trinidad Bay. Below left, Nanaimo nudibranch, Acanthodoris nanaiamoensis, dwarfs a tiny hermit crab, Pagurus sp, Pilot Rock, outside Trinidad Bay. Above right, California sea cucumber, Parastichopus californicus, scavenges along seafloor, Point Cabrillo. Lower right, close-up of a sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, Trinidad Head.
Page 66: Three lined nudibranch, Flabellina trilineata, approaches skeleton shrimp, Caprella kennerlyi, Trinidad Bay.
Page 67: Lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus, Beaver Point.
Page 68: Reef scene featuring a very red Stimpson’s sun star, Solaster stimpsoni, Point Cabrillo.
Page 69: Above, great white shark, Charcharodon carcharias, Isla Guadalupe, Mexico. Great whites travel enormous distances and are present in Northern California. Below, Puget Sound king crab, Lopholithodes mandtii, Point Cabrillo.
Page 70: Three ochre stars, Pisaster ochraceus, and a red urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, feeding, with a school of blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus, in the background, Point Cabrillo.
Page 71: Above left, pygmy rock crab, Cancer oregonensis, in a tunicate-covered hole, Shelter Cove. Below left, vermilion rockfish, Sebastes miniatus, Laguna Point, north of Noyo Harbor. Above right, female kelp greenling, Hexagrammos decagrammus, Laguna Point. Below right, red urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, sea star, Pisaster giganteus, on a large patch of yellow sponge, Leucetta losangelensis, near Elk.
Page 72: Pacific sea nettle, Chrysaora fuscescens, near Elk.
Page 73: A fish eating anemone with red lips, Urticina piscivora, near Elk.
Page 74: Alice Spott, member of a well-known Yurok family and Harry Roberts, the son of photographer and writer Ruth, with salmon near the Klamath River, about 1917. Photo by Mrs. Ruth K. Roberts, courtesy of the Humboldt State University Library Roberts Collection.
Page 75: Above, salmon fishing on the Klamath River, no date. Below, salmon on the way into a cannery on the Klamath River, circa 1928. Both courtesy of the Humboldt State University Library HCC photo collection.
Page 76: Charlie Li Foo (right) and an unknown man with a huge load of ling cod caught at Cuffey’s Cove, near Elk. Photo courtesy the Mendocino County Historical Society.
Page 77: Above, clamming at Clam Beach, probably 1967, Photo courtesy Humboldt State University Library HCC photo collection. Below, Tony Chess in 1956 with a catch of red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, at Shelter Cove. Photo courtesy of Tony Chess.
Page 78: Above, smelt drying by the ocean at Smith River reservation, the fish camp of Amelia Brown, June 1962. Photo by Mrs. Ruth K. Roberts, courtesy of the Humboldt State University Library Roberts Collection. Below, Maggie Pilgrim with surf fish at Luffenholtz Beach, 1951 Photographed by Thelma Moore, courtesy of the Humboldt State University Library Boyle Collection.
Page 79: Above, humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, at Trinidad whaling station in 1920s, photo Courtesy of the Clarke Historical Museum, Eureka. Below, flensing a “sulphur bottom” or blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, Trinidad, 1924, photo courtesy Humboldt State University Library Boyle Collection.
Page 80: Top left, red rock crab, Cancer productus, Laguna Point. Middle left, ochre stars, Pisaster ochraceus, near Elk. Lower left, sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, Shelter Cove.
Top right, China rockfish, Sebastes nebulosus, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg. Middle right, powder puff anemones, Metridium giganteum, with bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, Point Cabrillo. Lower right, brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis, Jack Peters Creek, Mendocino,
© Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com.
Page 82: Left, piddock clam of the family Pholatidae, burrowed into the bottom of Humboldt Bay. Right, sea pen, Ptilosarcus gurneyi, photo courtesy of Tony Chess.
Page 83: Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, Shelter Cove.
Page 84: Above, China rockfish, Sebastes nebulosus, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg. Below, low tide at Van Damme State Park.
Page 85: Stimpson’s sun star, Solaster stimpsoni, on a rocky reef a school of blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus, in the background, Point Cabrillo.
Page 86: Ochre stars, Pisaster ochraceus, among the holdfasts of bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, near Elk.
Page 87: Above, bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, on the surface, Van Damme State Park, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com. Below, sea palm kelp, Postelsia palmaeformis, Palmer’s Point, Patrick’s Point State Park, © Courtnay Janiak.
Page 88: Above left, white-lined nudibranch, Dirona albolineata, and acorn barnacle, Balanus nubilis, Shelter Cove. Below left, young sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, Shelter Cove. Right, Cockerell’s nudibranch, Limacia cockerelli (formerly Laila cockerelli), Beaver Point.
Page 89: Plume anemones, Metridium giganteum, growing on the side of a pinnacle with bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, on top, Point Cabrillo.
Page 90: Crinoids also known as feather stars, Fluorometra seratissima, and spot prawns, Pandalus platyceros, found 1,040 feet deep off Big Sur. Courtesy of the Institute for Applied Marine Ecology, The Nature Conservancy, and Marine Applied Research and Exploration.
Page 91: Sunflower star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, Shelter Cove.
Page 92: Brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis, Jack Peters Creek, Mendocino, © Ron LeValley / LeValleyPhoto.com.
Page 93: Giant skeleton shrimp, Caprella sp, clings to blade of eelgrass, Zostera marina, Humboldt Bay, near Field’s Landing.
Page 94: College Cove, north of Trinidad, in the late afternoon.
Page 95: Brown sea nettle, Chrysaora fuscescens, photographed from below on a very calm day, near Elk.
Page 96-97: Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, floating on the surface, Mendocino Bay.
Page 98-99: Wind-rippled sand, Clam Beach.
Page 100-101: Red urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, Beaver Point, near Fort Bragg.
Page 102-103: White puffball anemones, Metridium senile, Pilot Rock, outside Trinidad Bay.
Page 104: Spotted rose anemone, Urticina lofotensis, close up of the mouth, possibly after disgorging the remains of a meal, Laguna Point, Mendocino County.
End Notes and References:
Throughout these notes “DFG” stands for the California Department of Fish and Game.
Author's Introduction, p 6
The Oregon Border to False Klamath Cove, pp 10-17
The Klamath River to Redwood Creek, pp 18-25
Stone Lagoon to Clam Beach, pp 26-33
The Lost Coast, from the Eel River to Punta Gorda, pp 42-49
The Lost Coast, from Punta Gorda to Westport, pp 50-57
Ten Mile Beach to the Mendocino Headlands, pp 58-65
Little River to Point Arena, pp 66-73
Soft and Sandy Seafloor, p 82Rocky Reefs: From Shore to Deep Water, pp 84-85
Vol 3 Home • About Vol. 3 • Look Inside • Reviews • Buy Books • Vol. 3 References • Links
Wonders of the Sea has turned three! Own them all. See Volume One and Volume Two:
Wonders of the Sea: North Central California's Living Marine Riches and
Wonders of the Sea Volume Two: Marine Jewels of Southern California’s Coast and Islands
