Carmel Canyon

The Monterey Canyon system is composed of Soquel, Monterey, and Carmel Canyons.

Further offshore and approximately 30 kilometers down canyon from its head, Monterey Canyon joins Carmel Canyon in 1,970 meters of water. The headward parts of Monterey Canyon and its tributaries (less than 2,000 meters deep) generally have steep walls and narrow floors.

West (down canyon) of Carmel Canyon, Monterey Canyon’s profile changes. The flat floor widens and becomes less v-shaped in profile. The canyon generally trends southwest from Carmel Canyon for approximately 18 kilometers to Point Lobos Canyon.
Carmel Canyon is another relatively straight arm of the Monterey Canyon system. It has three heads. Two heads are in Carmel Bay—one at the shoreline just opposite San Jose Creek and another offshore about 3 kilometers from the mouth of Carmel River. Both cut Cretaceous granitic rocks. The third head extends along trend with the north-south oriented main canyon form, about 3 kilometers past the intersection of the other two heads.
The morphology of the east and west flanks of Carmel Canyon differ. Relatively straight sloping drainage channels and slumps lightly dissect the upper eastern wall. However, the western side of the canyon is composed of steep cliffs. The eastern wall is composed of the more resistant Cretaceous granitic rocks. Based on one dredge sample, Cretaceous sandstone crops out along the western wall and apparently constitutes the bedrock ridge.
From: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

the Canonization of Blessed Junípero Serra

"Prayer for the Canonization of
Blessed Junípero Serra

Heavenly Father, we ask you to look lovingly on the missionary journey of your faithful servant, Blessed Junípero Serra.

His steadfast efforts in founding nine missions in California and the conversion of thousands of Native Americans have inspired the formation and work of Serra International.

This ministry in Father Serra's name is to encourage and affirm vocations to priesthood and vowed religious life.

We pray that you bless this holy and courageous Franciscan missionary and grant him the ultimate honor of Sainthood in your heavenly kingdom.

We ask this in the name of thy Blessed Trinity and of Mary, Queen of Vocations.

Amen."

Prayer from: The Serra Club

Picture from: Chimes of Mission Bells, 1914

Western pond turtle (Clemmys marmorata)

"The Carmel River supports declining California native aquatic species including the southernmost population of the federally protected South Central Coast steelhead trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss), the federal and state protected California redlegged frog(Rana aurora draytonii) and the state listed Western pond turtle(Clemmys marmorata)."

From: LOWER CARMEL RIVER AND LAGOON FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
Picture from: Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians of Lake Merced

San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

"At this mission there are seven nations of Indians. They are called Excelen and Egeae, Rumsen, Sargenta Ruc, Sanconeños, Guachirron and Calendo Ruc. The first two are from inland. They have one and the same language or speech, but this is totally distinct from that of the other five, who speak a common tongue.

There is a custom among the men of entering daily a subterranean oven which is called temescal. Into this they bring fire. When it is sufficiently heated, they go in undressed. Then they sweat profusely, so that when they come out they look as if they had been bathing. It is known that this is very beneficial to them."

From: A MISSION RECORD OF THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS(1811)Translated by Alfred. L. Kroeber

Map from: Monterey County Historical Society

Petition To List Three Species of Lampreys as Threatened or Endangered

"The petitioned lampreys belong to the genus Lampetra in the family Petromyzontidae and subfamily Petromyzontinae, a primitive group of fishes that are eellike in form but lack the jaws and paired fins. These species have a round suckerlike mouth (oral disc), no scales, and breathing holes instead of gills. Most lamprey species have a similar life cycle: all begin life in freshwater, but some are anadromous (going from ocean to freshwater tributaries to spawn). In the beginning of their life cycle, the lamprey eggs hatch and the young ammocoetes (larvae) drift downstream to areas of low velocity and silt or sand substrate. They remain burrowed in the stream bottom, living as filter feeders for 2 to 7 years, filterfeeding on algae and detritus.

Pacific lampreys have been documented in the Pajaro, Santa Maria, Ventura, Carmel, and Big Sur Rivers..."
From: Federal Register: December 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 247)
Picture from: Klamath Resource Information System

Blessed Junípero Serra 1713 - 1784

1713
. . Miguel Jose Serra, born at Petra on the Island of Mallorca, Spain.

1729
. . At the age of 16 he entered the service of the Catholic Church. He soon entered the Order of St. Francis of Assisi, and and took a new first name, Junípero, that of St. Francis' beloved original companion friar.

1769
. . Spain began settlement of Alta California with the Sacred Expedition which Serra accompanied. Serra himself established nine missions, with a total of twenty-one missions eventually being established along the El Camino Real, from San Diego to Sonoma, a distance of 700 miles.

1784
. . At the age of 70, and after traveling 24,000 miles, Father Junípero Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo and is buried there under the sanctuary floor.
From: The Serra Club

facebook Carmel Valley: Valley Swimming Holes

Valley Swimming Holes

"Porter's Pool was a good one just up the river from Rosie's.

Porter's Pool was awesome with the swing off the top of the cliff, and always the threat of a lamprey eel below!

I do believe I got a 2nd degree sunburn at Porter's Pool.

I lived in one of the those houses right next to Porter's Pool, a gray house with a deck that had a tree growing thru it. My friends and I use to dive off that cliff all the time. We built forts out of river stone and drift wood and caught crawdads and cooked them up right there. It was an idyllic childhood. And then there was the lampreys..."

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=30978417967&topic=5839

Pacifastacus leniusculus

"Crawdads — members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea — are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter against predators.

The signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, is an American crayfish indigenous to the western United States.^[1] Members of this species are up to 15 cm in length.^[2] They are bluish-brown to reddish-brown in color with robust large smooth claws. They have a white to pale blue-green patch near the claw hinge.^[2]

Like all crayfish, they are solitary animals and are omnivorous, although their diet is mainly vegetarian they will eat anything from decaying roots and leaves to meat, including crayfish smaller than themselves."
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_crayfish

Chanjay the Headman from the Rumsen village

"When Father Serra arrived at Monterey in 1770, he was met by the people of the Rumsen villages of Achasta. The news of the arrival of those foreigners traveled fast through the five Rumsen villages. It wasn't long before "Chanjay", the Headman from the Rumsen villages of Echilat, learned of their arrival.

After gathering much knowledge and offering prayers to the creator, the sixty-year-old Chanjay convinced tribal Chiefs from the villages of Achasta, Tucutnut, Soccorronda, Echilat and Ichxenta to send tribal members to assist Father Serra in building Mission San Carlos and planting crops.

Chief Chanjay's role as a Rumsen Headman was to pass on the culture by his teachings, stories, songs, and dances, organizing gatherings and by conducting ceremonies. Chanjay sanctioned marriages and oversaw disputes among tribal members and other Rumsen villages.

By 1783, 90 tribal members from Chanjay's village entered Mission San Carlos to become members of that Mission. Little did they know what lay in store for them, as upon their joining they were enslaved for life. "

From: Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe
Picture from: Western Historical Quarterly

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

"Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, also known as the Carmel Mission, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It is part of the National Registry of Historic Places and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

It was the headquarters of the original Alta California Missions headed by Father Junípero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784.

It was destroyed in the mid 1800s."
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Carlos_Borrom%C3%A9o_de_Carmel.
Photo by Pfaffendorn

Rumsen Ohlone

"The Rumsen local tribe, from which the language name was derived, held the lower Carmel River Valley and neighboring Monterey Peninsula at the time of Spanish colonization. Their population of approximately 400-500 people was distributed among at least five villages within their territory.

The last fluent speaker of Rumsen (and probably the last fluent speaker of any Costanoan language) was Isabel Meadows^, who died in 1939."

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumsen
Picture from E-Legal

Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System

From a Monterey Peninsula Water Management District presentation-- Carmel River Watershed: Water Supply Perspective
http://www.epa.gov/region/water/groundwater/gwswp-forum/files/Oliver.pdf

Oncorhynchus mykiss

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States. The ocean going (anadromous) form (including those returning for spawning) are known as steelhead, or ocean trout (Australia and United States).

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

Early Carmel River Water Supply Development: Ranchos (granted 1820’s-1840’s)

From a Monterey Peninsula Water Management District presentation-- Carmel River Watershed: Water Supply Perspective
http://www.epa.gov/region/water/groundwater/gwswp-forum/files/Oliver.pdf

San Clemente Dam Removal Project

"The river must be rerouted into the adjacent San Clemente Creek, upstream of this area.

This will be accomplished by cutting a “diversion channel” (also called a bypass channel) through the narrow ridge separating the two waterways, approximately one-half mile upstream of the dam (Label #1).

The diversion channel would be cut by a combination of blasting and ripping the rock. Rock excavated from the diversion channel would then be used to create structure that would block the river from entering the sediment disposal area and divert it into the newly cut diversion channel. This structure, the “diversion dike”, would essentially be a new ridge cutting across the valley floor (Label #2).

Once the sediment excavation and stream restoration is complete, the dam will be demolished. The concrete rubble will be used to help stabilize the sediment stockpile and the diversion dam. All concrete rubble will be used on site. "

From California State Coastal Conservancy: http://www.scc.ca.gov/

Carmel River steelhead teetering on extinction, August 2009

"Sierra Club and the Carmel River Steelhead Association (CRSA) have filed a lawsuit in federal court under the citizen enforcement provision of the Environmental Species Act (ESA). The lawsuit is seeking an immediate 35% reduction in diversions of water from the Carmel River in Monterey County by California-American Water Company.

The suit contends that as a result of the over pumping, the Carmel River steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) could become extinct...Numbers have been in a steady decline since 2001 despite annual rescue efforts by CRSA volunteers to move fish upstream as the river dries. Factors for decline for Carmel River steelhead are habitat blockages, dewatering from urban water diversions, habitat degradation, and agricultural and urban development on floodplains and riparian areas.

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) also found that CalAm had rights to divert only 3,376 acre-feet annually. The SWRCB stated that: “Cal-Am is diverting about 10,730 acre-feet annually from the Carmel River or its underflow without a valid basis of right.” However, for the last fourteen years Cal-Am has continued to divert up to 11,285 acre-feet annually.

Attorney Larry Silver said, “Many fish die, and a count done earlier this year found only 93 adult steelhead returned from the ocean to the river, a 75% decrease from previous years."

From Sierra Club Ventana Chapter: http://ventana.sierraclub.org
Picture from Webrarian's photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/webrarian/

the dam structure could potentially fail

"The San Clemente Dam is a 106-foot high concrete arch dam located approximately 18.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean on the Carmel River. California American Water (CalAm) owns and operates the dam.

When the dam was constructed in 1921, it had a reservoir storage capacity of approximately 1,425 acre-feet. Today the reservoir is over 90% filled with more than 2.5 million cubic yards of sediment, leaving a reservoir storage capacity of approximately 125 acre-feet.

In the early 1990s, the California Department of Water Resources issued a safety order, determining that the dam structure could potentially fail in the event of either the maximum credible earthquake or probable maximum flood."

From San Clemente Dam Removal Project: http://www.scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sanclemente/san_clemente_large.pdf
Picture from the wonderful blog Xasuan Today: http://xasauantoday.wordpress.com/

The Carmel river provides essential habitat

"Since 1921 ... the Carmel River and its wildlife resources have been impacted by San Clemente Dam. As a result of the dam, the Carmel River suffers accelerated erosion, the once vibrant steelhead run has dramatically decreased, and lives and property below the dam are threatened with collapse of the unsafe structure. Today, there is an extraordinary opportunity to remove the antiquated dam and initiate a watershed restoration process that will bring this river back to life.

The river provides essential habitat for many important species, including steelhead trout and California red-legged frog, both listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act."

From San Clemente Dam Removal Project: http://www.scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sanclemente/san_clemente_large.pdf
Photo from Fritz Liess' photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzliess/sets/72157616162123797/

Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624)

"Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.

Sailing up the coast, Vizcaino named most of the prominent features such as Point Lobos, Carmel Valley, Monterey Bay, Sierra Point, and Coyote Point."

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Vizcaino

2016 deadline on reducing pumping from Carmel River

"The state Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday released its third version of a proposed cease-and-desist order aimed at the Peninsula's water purveyor.

Among the revisions in the latest version is a Dec. 31, 2016, deadline for California American Water to bring its pumping from the Carmel River within legal limits.

The state Water Resources Control Board says the company has taken too long to develop a new water source, and continued pumping, above the legal limit, is harming steelhead trout in the Carmel River. " From Monterey Herald 9/17/09 http://www.montereyherald.com

Photo from tsallam's photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annevoi/

Zero fish arrived for four years at the beginning of the 1990s

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District declared a "Water Supply Emergency" in 1998, which is still in effect and reconfirmed yearly as of January 2009 - with no end in sight.
"The Carmel River goes dry - even in good years. It is killing steelhead." US-National Marine Fisheries Service, Senior Advisor Joseph Blum in formal comments to the California Department of Fish and Game Commission Apr 6, 2001 singling out the Carmel river from all California rivers because of the dewatering impacts to the ESA listed steelhead and California Red-Legged Frog.

During the 1987 to 1995 time period the steelhead trout run in the Carmel River dropped precipitously. Zero fish arrived for four years at the beginning of the 1990s. Only single digit numbers of the species showed up for 6 of the last 10 years. This, among other things, caused the steelhead to be federally listed and protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. "
From the Helping Our Peninsula's Environmen: http://www.1hope.org/watersit.htm

San Clemente Dam removal

"The proposed project would blast a new channel through the ridge separating the river from the creek, and divert the Carmel River into the creek approximately one-half mile upstream from the dam.
Project Benefits:

• 25 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for steelhead trout
• restoring the natural sediment supply to the downstream beaches
• providing new recreation opportunities for the public"

From the Ventura River Ecosystem Blog: http://venturaecosystem.blogspot.com

San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River

"Planning is underway for the removal of this obsolete dam. Constructed in 1921, the structure has become a liability to its owner, CalAm Water, mainly due to sedimentation and structural instability."

From the Ventura River Ecosystem blog: http://venturaecosystem.blogspot.com/

Carmel River Watershed

Map from: MONTEREY PENINSULA
WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/MapGallery/Description.htm

The Carmel River

"The Carmel River is a river, 36 miles long, on the central coast of Monterey County, California.
It is often considered as the northern boundary of Big Sur. It originates in the Santa Lucia Mountains, flows northwest through the Carmel Valley and empties into the Pacific Ocean.
It was discovered in 1602 by Sebastian Vizcaino."
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel_River

Photo by DidaK http://www.flickr.com/photos/chcf/

Mountain Lion Kill

Carmel Pinecone article. http://www.pineconearchive.com