Pigeon Point

Click here for Biodiversity Survey findings

Pigeon Point is located in the Central Coast region of California, within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This site is located within Pigeon Point Lightstation State Historic Park. This site receives high visitation by tidepoolers and is often visited by school groups. This gently sloping site consists of extremely uneven terrain, containing many deep cracks and folds.

Pigeon Point is dominated by a mixture of consolidated conglomerate rock and boulder fields, and the area surrounding the site is comprised of a mixture of consolidated conglomerate rock, boulder fields, and sandy beach. The primary coastal orientation of this site is south/southwest.

Long-Term Monitoring Surveys at Pigeon Point were established in 2002, and are done by University of California Santa Cruz. Water temperature is monitored at this site.

Biodiversity Surveys were done in 2002, 2006, 2013, 2018, and 2020. The Biodiversity Survey grid encompasses one section that is approximately 33 meters (along shore) x 33 meters (seaward). Click here to view Biodiversity Survey findings at this site.

This site is also regularly surveyed by LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students) which is an environmental monitoring and education program for students, educators, and volunteer groups. You can access site specific data from this citizen scientist and educational broad scale trend monitoring program.

For more information about Pigeon Point, please contact Pete Raimondi (raimondi@ucsc.edu).