Warm reflections

You can vote every 24 hours? Cool.

Very serene.

More about the local area in and around the beach in Carpinteria:

For more than two decades, a battle raged between development interests with plans to build huge housing and hotel projects, and local conservationists who wanted to preserve the bluffs and limit offshore oil drilling. Surfers, hikers, and birdwatchers have long enjoyed the bluffs, which rise about 100 feet above the beach and offer great views of Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa islands.

The Carpinteria Harbor Seal Rookery is nearby. The City of Carpinteria closes the beach from December 1 through May 31 of each year during the pupping season. This rookery is one of four remaining rookeries on the Southern California coast and is home to almost 100 adult seals who give birth to their cubs on the shoreline. This rookery offers protection for the pups from strong tides and gives them a chance to improve their swimming techniques as they grow and learn to swim and forage for food. Humans may quietly watch the boisterous colony from a blufftop observation area above the beach.

The first drilling platform off Santa Barbara County was installed in 1958 offshore Carpinteria. The Carpinteria Oil Field was discovered in 1964 by Chevron and ARCO in California State Tidelands off Carpinteria. Development began in 1965 with construction of platforms in state waters just outside the 3-mile state limit,. By some estimates as much as 100,000 barrels of crude blackened South Coast beaches during a January 1969 spill and wreaked untold damage to the environment.

Venoco has also applied to the City of Carpinteria for permission to construct a new drilling tower next to the Carpinteria Bluffs and City Hall, in order to drill into several offshore State leases. EDC represents several groups in opposition to this proposal, which would violate the City’s zoning ordinance and pose significant impacts to the Carpinteria coast, nearby seal sanctuary, and other coastal wildlife.

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