Mescalitan Island is a mesalike island located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Santa Barbara near the outlet of the Goleta Slough into the Pacific Ocean.
Aerial view of the remaining part of Mescalitan Island (left) and the Goleta Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant, with UCSB in the distance.
The island is where the Chumash Indian village Helo was centered. Early Spanish mission documents note that Juan Crespi, an early visitor, observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents.[1]
Juan Cabrillo Periodedit
The first European explorer in the Goleta area, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, arrived on October 15, 1542. At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships. A Spanish schooner, or 'goleta', reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter. From that point on, the area became known as Goleta.[2] During a sailing trip to Northern California, Cabrillo was injured, later dying of his injuries; according to some accounts he was buried on San Miguel Island. However, according to the local canaliños (Chumash) he was buried on Mescalitan Island.[3]
Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area. In the 1860s, after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment.[4]
The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Water Resource Recovery District.
There is a mural depicting Mescalitan Island on the side of the Santa Cruz Market on Hollister Avenue in old town Goleta.[6]
Topographic Image of the Island
Locationedit
The site of Mescalitan Island is in southern Santa Barbara County, California at 34° 25' 16" N. latitude and 119° 50' W. longitude. Mescalitan Island is shown in the center of the Goleta USGS topographic quadrangle.[7]
mescalitan, island, mesalike, island, located, about, miles, west, santa, barbara, near, outlet, goleta, slough, into, pacific, ocean, aerial, view, remaining, part, left, goleta, sanitary, sewage, treatment, plant, with, ucsb, distance, contents, history, chu. Mescalitan Island is a mesalike island located about 10 miles 16 km west of Santa Barbara near the outlet of the Goleta Slough into the Pacific Ocean Aerial view of the remaining part of Mescalitan Island left and the Goleta Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant with UCSB in the distance Contents 1 History 1 1 Chumash Indians 1 2 Juan Cabrillo Period 1 3 Leveled 1 4 Present day 2 Location 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editChumash Indians edit The island is where the Chumash Indian village Helo was centered Early Spanish mission documents note that Juan Crespi an early visitor observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents 1 Juan Cabrillo Period edit The first European explorer in the Goleta area Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived on October 15 1542 At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships A Spanish schooner or goleta reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter From that point on the area became known as Goleta 2 During a sailing trip to Northern California Cabrillo was injured later dying of his injuries according to some accounts he was buried on San Miguel Island However according to the local canalinos Chumash he was buried on Mescalitan Island 3 Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area In the 1860s after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment 4 Leveled edit In 1941 the Army Corps of Engineers leveled most of Mescalitan Island to provide fill for a Navy airport 5 That airport became part of Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara in 1942 and a few years later became the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Present day edit The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Water Resource Recovery District There is a mural depicting Mescalitan Island on the side of the Santa Cruz Market on Hollister Avenue in old town Goleta 6 nbsp Topographic Image of the IslandLocation editThe site of Mescalitan Island is in southern Santa Barbara County California at 34 25 16 N latitude and 119 50 W longitude Mescalitan Island is shown in the center of the Goleta USGS topographic quadrangle 7 See also editChumash populated placesReferences edit Comstock Homes Development and Ellwood Mesa Open Space Plan FEIR PDF 2004 pp 4 11 4 Goleta s Forgotten Treasure A Brief History of the Goleta Slough PDF Channels Newsletter of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper 2003 Archived from the original PDF on March 4 2012 Retrieved April 6 2015 About Goleta Valley Junior High School Archived from the original on April 13 2015 Retrieved April 6 2015 Bury John The Residents of Mescalitan Island Goleta Valley Voice Retrieved February 17 2019 Isla Vista Master Plan Draft EIR Cultural Historic Resources pp 3 6 4 Werner Allyson March 3 2014 Old Town Mural Recalls Life in Long Ago Goleta Noozhawk Retrieved April 6 2015 GOLETA Topo Map at Lat 34 4217 N Long 119 8325 W Zoom 15 S Size Trails com Retrieved April 6 2015 External links editHistorical Accounts and Maps of the Goleta Slough Mescaltitlan Island at Goleta History 34 25 18 N 119 50 00 W 34 42166 N 119 83347 W 34 42166 119 83347 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mescalitan Island amp oldid 1171386372, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
