Until the Good is Gone

Natural Bridges Beach in Santa Cruz, CA, and some lovely evening light......Texture from Kerstin Frank Art on flickr........Photoshop... more

by Laurie Search

Title

Until the Good is Gone

Artist

Laurie Search

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Natural Bridges Beach in Santa Cruz, CA, and some lovely evening light......Texture from Kerstin Frank Art on flickr........Photoshop CS6.........Wikipedia says: Natural Bridges State Beach is named for the naturally occurring mudstone bridges that were carved by the Pacific Ocean into cliffs that jutted out into the sea. The arches formed over a million years ago when a combination of silt, clay and diatoms were solidified into a mixture of stone that formed the three original arches of the beach. Wave erosion carved the arches and then cut away the cliffs leaving only islands. Of the three original arches only the middle one remains. The outermost arch fell during the early 20th century and the inner arch collapsed during a storm in 1980. The middle arch is in danger of collapsing as well due to erosion by wind and waves. Visitors were formerly permitted to climb up, walk and even drive on the bridges. Now the arch is closed to public access.........Natural Bridges State Beach is home to a eucalyptus grove that provided habitat for monarch butterflies. Up to 150,000 butterflies migrate up to 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to the park to escape the cold weather of winter in the northwestern United States and Canada. The city of Santa Cruz holds an annual festival to mark the return of the butterflies. Monarchs settle in groves along the coasts of California and Baja California. At Natural Bridges State Beach they find shelter from the wind and sources of water and food. The butterflies cluster onto the trees, "intertwining their legs among the branches to resemble a clump of leaves." The butterflies protect each other from cold winter winds and rains by clustering together. Beginning in the late 1990s the population of butterflies at the park began to decline. Biologist attribute the decline to a lack of habitat caused by fallen pine and eucalyptus trees. The decline at Natural Bridges State Beach has meant an increase in butterfly numbers at nearby Lighthouse Field State Beach.........Tide pools at the beach provide a glimpse into marine life habitat for visitors to the park. Receding tides reveal populations of urchins, sea stars, hermit crabs, and kelp. Marine mammals and birds such as shore birds, whales, seals and sea otters can be seen from the beach.........The 65-acre (26 ha) of the park have a variety of habitats. Saltwater and freshwater marshes are found on Moore Creek. Coastal Scrub surrounds the margins and undeveloped interior areas of the park. Sand dunes and a fresh water pond are also found at the park.

Uploaded

May 25th, 2015