Occulto is located in the Central Coast region of California, on Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB). The site’s location on VAFB largely restricts human use, although the reef is used by military personnel for fishing. This gently sloping site consists of moderately uneven terrain, containing few cracks and folds, which are separated by large sandy surge channels.
Occulto is dominated by consolidated bedrock, which is bordered upcoast and downcoast by sandy beaches. The primary coastal orientation of this site is west/northwest.
Long-Term Monitoring Surveys at Occulto were established in 1992 and are done by University of California Santa Cruz. Long-Term MARINe surveys currently target the following species: Chthamalus/Balanus (Acorn Barnacles), Mytilus (California Mussel), Endocladia (Turfweed), and Pisaster (Ochre Star). In addition, motile invertebrates, barnacle recruitment, mussel size structure, and water temperature are monitored at this site. For more information see the Long-Term trends at this site.
For more information about Occulto, please contact Pete Raimondi (raimondi@ucsc.edu).