What is the history of Santa Rosa Island, California?
During the Wisconsin glaciationlast ice age it, and the other three northern Channel Islands, were conjoined into Santa Rosae, a single island that was only five miles (8 km) off the coast. Archeologists have discovered the remains of 13,000 year-old Arlington Springs Man, among the oldest human remains in the Americas, on Santa Rosa Island. Pygmy mammoths (Mammuthus exilis) have also been excavated there. Its previous owner, Vail & Vickers of Santa Barbara, had owned the island since 1902 and sold it to the U.S. federal government for $30 million in 1986. The last domestic cattle were shipped off the island in 1998. The National Park Service will permit the former landowners to retain non-native Kaibab Mule Deer and Elk (Cervus canadensis)Roosevelt Elk on the island until 2011. There are a variety of recreational activities to take part in on Sant Rosa Island, including kayaking, camping and hiking. A private boat charter company offers a number of trips to the island year round, and
