Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Orange County. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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From the northernmost Pelican Point parking area (lot 1), a paved bike path—lined with native planted shrubs and spring wildflowers—swings toward the edge of the bluff. Soon there’s a split: left toward the beach, right toward a viewpoint overlooking the ocean. For the rock-hopping trip, descend to the beach and head up the coast over boulders and finlike rock formations beside a sea cave into the tidepool area, 0.6 mile from the parking area. The rock formations in the tidepools and the nearby cliffs are thinly bedded shales, gently tilted and sometimes fantastically contorted, dating back about 12 million years. In most but not all places in the intertidal zone, this rock affords good traction even when wet.

In the intertidal strip itself, a few dozen steps from high-tide to low-tide level encompass a complete spectrum of marine plants and animals adapted to the various degrees of inundation and exposure. In the high intertidal zone, hardy species like periwinkle snails, limpets, mussels, barnacles, and green sea anemones are found. Some of these creatures are adapted to survival in habitats moistened only by the splash of breaking waves. Shore crabs patrol these bouldered spaces, but they’ll likely be hiding.