Shoreline Strolls – Edges and Ledges of Laguna

 

Here we are scrambling over the Aliso Creek Ledges to Camel Beach.

 

“Girls just wanna have fun!”

 

These ledges have tide-pools at low tide and Laguna Beach is of course famous for its tide-pools because of its rocky shore.

 

 

 

 

Ecologically this is where the action is for us.

 

 

We can feel it in the shelving sand and rocks under our shifting feet and see it in the movement of the eel-grass as it slides easily under the advancing tide while we gladly coast and drift along together, sometimes holding hands.

 

 

 

A rocky shore consists of rocky ledges with pools of salty water, boulders and pebbles.

 

 

Living in this habitat is a community of hardy plants and animals and each species is specially adapted for coping with the harsh environment around it.

 

 

The plants and animals interact with each other and with their habitat to form the diverse, rocky shore ecosystem, namely Laguna Beach.

 

 

Rocky shore species have to be able to survive the continual cycle of changing tides which may leave them either high and dry or submerged in water for varying lengths of time.

 

 

 

 

Spring tides (from the Old English word ‘springen’, to rise) occur every two weeks at times of the full and new moon.

 

Spring tides are especially strong tides and they do not have anything to do with the season Spring!

 

Something as unmoving as a large vein of quartz running through the tidepool rock looks incredibly like the turbulent sea-foam of the ocean – is this seam of static rock really lifeless or in turmoil?

 

And on a final note, around Thanksgiving, the crescent moon dazzled us with Venus by her side at twilight over Bird Rock’s tide-pools – magnificent!

 

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are areas of coastal ocean set aside to protect all parts of its habitat and wildlife, which include our tidepools.

 

 

 

 

 

These MPAs in Laguna Beach will be implemented on January 1st.

 

 

Let’s have a party!