With spring now underway, I’ve recently been thinking about how the contrast between Southern California’s two seasons is pretty spectacular. This image here is a composite between Sentinel-2 satellite data from October 2019 (bottom) and February 2019 (top). The spring of 2019 followed an above average rainy season, leading to abundant greenery during the months of February through April. In numbers, these islands received around 20” of rain (compare that to London’s 23” annually). The rest of the year in this mediterranean climate is typically brown.

These are the northern four of a total of eight Channel Islands, of which used to consist of a single landmass. From left to right:

San Miguel Island. This island is particularly treacherous to ships, while its remoteness has allowed recolonization by northern fur seals, now over 10,000 in number. This, in turn, means this island also hosts a large population of great white sharks. Also found on the island is a caliche forest (sand castings) and the remains of pygmy woolly mammoths.
Santa Rosa. The Arlington Springs Man was excavated here, whose remains date back 13,000 years, making these perhaps the earliest remains found in all of North America.
Santa Cruz. Closer to the California coast, this island has a designated population of two people, yet is California’s largest island (three times the size of Manhattan). The longest sea cave in North America can be found here, along with island foxes and bald eagles.
Anacapa. While only five miles long and 1/4 mile wide, this small island contains flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth.

Satellite data from ESA’s Copernicus program. CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.