Sunday, December 5, 2010

Chapter 18 - Hawaii

One of the well known characteristics of Hawaii is their volcanoes. I found that Monterey also has a volcanoes but they are underwater! The Davidson Seamount is a 26 mile long and 8 mile wide cluster of submarine volcanoes. It is over 4,100 feet below the surface. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary studies and identifies species there. They have identified 168 species of animals which include sea stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. They have also identified 27 types of corals which include sea fans and black corals. According to the website baynature.org, Davidson Seamount attracts a lot of marine life because the swirling currents produced in the area concentrate nutrients which attracts the marine life.  


How cool is this?

Chapter 16 - The North Pacific Coast

Like the North Pacific Coast, Monterey has mountains. The Santa Cruz Mountains, which are part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, run through Monterey. The elevation of the Santa Cruz Mountains is 3,786 ft.  This is nothing compared to some of the mountains in the North Pacific Coast! The interesting thing about the Santa Cruz Mountains is that there are between 50-60 wineries in the mountains. You can go visit the wineries and see a view of the Monterey Bay at the same time! 


Monterey also has a total of 27 mountain summits and peaks according to the website, mountainzone.com. These mountains are good for hiking or climbing! Some of these mountains are: Artillery Hill Summit which has a peak elevation of 410ft, Huckleberry Hill Summit which has a peak elevation of 945ft, and Fish Head Hill Summit which has a peak elevation of 2,523ft. 


Who would have thought that a place like Monterey would have many mountains?