Explore the incredible adaptations and unique species that have evolved in isolation on the Channel Islands, often called the 'North American Galapagos'.
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Islands Where Evolution Took Its Own Path
Eight islands sit off the Southern California coast, and five of them make up Channel Islands National Park — sometimes called the North American Galápagos.
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1
Tiny Foxes With Island-Sized Stories
The island fox weighs about as much as a housecat — roughly four pounds — making it one of the smallest canid species on the planet.
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2
The Only Jay You Cannot Find Elsewhere
The Island Scrub Jay exists on exactly one place on Earth — Santa Cruz Island.
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3
Plants That Grow Nowhere Else on Earth
The Island Paintbrush blooms in brilliant red on these rocky slopes, and you won't find it growing wild anywhere else on the planet.
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4
Mammoths That Shrank to Fit Their Island
Columbian mammoths, standing over thirteen feet tall, once swam across roughly five miles of open ocean to reach land that no longer exists.
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5
Skunks Salamanders and Survivors of Isolation
The island spotted skunk, found only on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, is noticeably smaller than its mainland relatives — a pattern biologists call insular dwarfism.
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