Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve, Protected coastal area in San Luis Obispo County, California, US.
Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve is a protected coastal area featuring scrub vegetation, grasslands, ocean habitats, and forest growth across varying elevations. The land transitions from shoreline to higher inland terrain where different plants and animals thrive.
The land was originally part of a large Mexican-era estate in the 1800s. It later became a research area for the University of California system.
This location has been home to people who gathered shellfish and fished here for thousands of years. The land still reflects this deep human connection to the coast.
The location has basic research facilities with simple accommodations and outdoor showers for visitors. It is a remote setting for nature observation and research activities.
The reserve contains one of California's last original forests of a specific pine species found nowhere else in such numbers. These trees grow on land that sits above active geological features.
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