NATIONAL

MONUMENT

BLM

California

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
b

San Joaquin 

antelope 

ground

squirrel

CARRIZO PLAIN

Wildlife

San Joaquin 

antelope squirrel

Tule elk San Joaquin kit fox Pronghorn antelope AL SCHMIERER RACHEL ENDICOTT

Western rattlesnake Long-billed curlew Giant kangaroo rat Burrowing owl
WELCOME,

Junior 

Explorer!

Come explore the lands and resources of 

the Carrizo Plain National Monument. This 

Field Guide focuses on the history and 

natural resources found in this special place

Work through the activities on your own 

or ask a sibling, parent, or an adult you 

know to join you. When you complete the 

activities, check them against the answer 

key in the back of the booklet. You can 

also record your own observations on the 

journal pages while out on the monument.

Return to the Goodwin Education Center, 

say the Junior Explorer pledge on the 

last page, sign the certificate, and you’re 

on your way to exploring and caring for 

America’s public lands.

Have fun!

.

Blunt-nosed 

leopard lizard 1

NATIONAL

MONUMENT
2

 CARRIZO PLAIN

Checklist

As you explore the monument, 

see how many things you can 

find on this list.

Natural/Cultural Features











Painted Rock

Soda Lake

Overlook Hill

Tractor

San Andreas Fault

Flowers











Goldenbush

Tidy Tips

Goldfields

California Poppy

Lupine

Reptiles/Insects













Snake

Lizard

Beetle

Spider Web

Insect Buzzing

Grasshopper

Birds

 Raven

Golden Eagle

Owl

Roadrunner

Condor*

Bluebird

Meadowlark

Red Tailed Hawk

Bird Singing or Calling

Mammals



















Tule Elk

Pronghorn

California Ground Squirrel

Antelope Squirrel*

Giant Kangaroo Rat*

Kit Fox*

Coyote

Jack Rabbit

Animal burrow

*Threatened or Endangered Species

The closer you look...

...the more you see!
3

Farming

ON THE CARRIZO

Dry land farming was introduced on 

the Carrizo Plain in the late 1800s 

with an emphasis on growing barley 

and wheat. Explore the old farming 

equipment behind the Goodwin 

Education Center, and then find all of 

the words in the puzzle below.

Find and circle all of these words:

BARLEY, SAUCITO, GRAIN, HARVESTER, DISK, PLOW, RANCH, SCRAPER, 

SEEDER, TRACTOR, TRAVER, WASHBURN, WATER, WHEAT

You can find even more historic 

farming equipment at Travers Ranch 

NATIONAL on the south end of the monument.

MONUMENT
4

Goodwin

EDUCATION CENTER

Look for answers to the questions 

below as you explore the education 

center.

What materials did Native Americans 

use to make paint for pictographs?

What endangered species live on 

the Carrizo Plain?

Find California Juniper in the 

education center garden and draw 

a picture of it.

What is your favorite piece of

farming equipment?

What was it used for?
5

Overlook

 HILL

The Carrizo Plain is bordered on 

either side by mountains. Follow the 

path to the top of Overlook Hill to 

answer the questions below.

What two mountain ranges border the Carrizo Plain?

What is the highest peak in the Temblor Range?

The highest point in the Calientes is Caliente Peak at 5,106 feet. 

Is Caliente Peak the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County? ( Yes / No )

List three endangered animal species that live on the monument.

NATIONAL

MONUMENT
6

 Soda Lake

 HABITATS

The plants that grow around 

Soda Lake are adapted to a salty 

environment. In ecology, the place 

each plant or animal lives is called its 

habitat. Draw a line to connect the 

plants and animals to their habitat.

 Tule Elk Saltbush Pronghorn

Hills and Mountains

Alkaline Soil

Vernal Pool

Flat, Open Land

Fairy Shrimp 
7

Who

 WAS HERE?

We can learn a lot from the tracks that people 

and animals leave behind. They may only 

spend a few moments in one place, but their 

tracks may remain for days. 

Can you identify which animals made the tracks below?

RABBIT, COYOTE, BOBCAT, KIT FOX, GROUND SQUIRREL, 

GIANT KANGAROO RAT, PRONGHORN ANTELOPE

Can you guess what made these tracks?

NATIONAL

MONUMENT
8

 SAN ANDREAS

Fault

Explore the San Andreas fault from the 

Wallace Creek interpretive trail. Wallace 

Creek did not always look the way it does 

today. If you study the path of Wallace Creek, 

and think about how the San Andreas fault 

behaves and moves, you might be able to 

guess what the creek looked like in the past. 

Below is a drawing of what Wallace Creek looks like today. 

Draw a picture of Wallace Creek before the modern channel was cut.

Present day Before the modern channel

North 

American 

Plate

Pacific Plate

Direction of creek flow

Use the interpretive signs or Wallace Creek brochure to complete the 

sentences below.

1. The fault is about _________ miles long, stretching from Cape Mendocino to 

the Salton Sea. 

2. On average, the Pacific plate is moving past the North American plate at a 

rate of ________ inches per year—about as fast as a fingernail grows.

3. Geologists use the term __________ to describe the direction the fault moves.
9

CARRIZO PLAIN

Food Chain

A food chain shows the flow of food energy through an ecosystem. A food 

chain begins with a producer, usually a green plant. Producers are eaten by 

primary consumers (plant eating herbivores) which are eaten by secondary 

consumers (meat eating carnivores), some of which may in turn be eaten by 

tertiary consumers (the top carnivore in the chain).

Draw a line to match the plant or animal below to its place in the 

food chain.

4. Tertiary Consumer

↑

3. Secondary Consumer

↑

2. Primary Consumer

↑

1. Producer

Rattlesnake

Kangaroo Rat

Grass

Coyote

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MONUMENT
10

JUNIOR EXPLORER

Word Match

Read the words and definitions below. Draw a line to match the words with 

the correct definitions. 

1. Habitat

2. Ecology

3. Adaptation

4. Diversity

5. Culture

6. Heritage

7. History

A. Changes that help plants and animals better 

survive their environments

B. Stories, places, and property that are passed to us 

from our ancestors

C. Variety in nature or culture

D. A record of the past

E. When a group of people share a language, music, 

type of food, and a special way of doing things

F. The study of the relationship between living things 

and their environment

G. The arrangement of food, water, shelter, and space 

suitable to a plant or animal’s needs
11

People

OF THE PAST

Many people have called the Carrizo 

Plain their home. As you explore the 

area, look for evidence of those who 

have once lived here.

Can you name one of the Native 

American tribes that used the Carrizo?

Who are some of the other people or 

groups that have lived in the Carrizo 

Plain?

What did they eat while they lived here?

Draw a picture of a structure they 

built while living on the plain.

Draw a picture of a tool they used.

NATIONAL

MONUMENT
12

Journal What did you learn? Where did 

you hike? What animals did you 

see? Record today’s date, what the 

weather is like, and add notes to your 

journal about what you did today.

Date

Weather

I saw

I heard

I smelled

I learned
Bureau of Land Management

Junior Explorer

As a Bureau of Land Management Junior Explorer, 

I promise to:

do all I can to help preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources 

on our public lands,

be aware of how my actions can affect other living things and 

the evidence of our past,

keep learning about the importance of nature and our heritage, and 

share what I have learned with others!

Date Explorer Signature

15

 ANSWER

Key

Page 3

Caliente Peak: Yes

Endangered Animal Species:

San Joaquin kit fox, Giant kangaroo rat, Blunt-nosed 

leopard lizard, San Joaquin antelope squirrel

Page 6

Tule Elk—Hills and Mountains

Saltbush—Alkaline Soil

Pronghorn—Flat, open land 

Fairy Shrimp—Vernal Pool

Page 7

Rabbit Coyote

Bobcat

Kit Fox

Automobile Person

Ground Squirrel

Giant 

Kangaroo Rat

Pronghorn 

Antelope

Page 4

Paint Materials:

Hematite for red. Wood charcoal for black. 

Diatomaceous or gypsum for white.

Endangered Species:

Giant kangaroo rat, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, San 

Joaquin kit fox, San Joaquin antelope squirrel.

Page 5

Mountain Ranges:

Temblor Mountains, Caliente Mountains

Highest Peak: Midway Peak

Page 8

1. About 700 miles long

2. 1.3 inches per year

3. right-lateral

Wallace Creek

NATIONAL

MONUMENT
16

 ANSWER

Key(continued)

Page 9

Grass—1. Producer

Kangaroo Rat—2. Primary Consumer

Rattlesnake—3. Secondary Consumer

Coyote—4. Tertiary Consumer

Page 10

1. G 4. C 7. D

2. F 5. E

3. A 6. B 

Page 11

Native American Tribes:

Chumash, Yokuts, Salinian

Other people or groups:

Farmers, Ranchers

Foods:

Elk, antelope, small game, rabbits, acorns, etc.
17

NATIONAL

MONUMENT

CARRIZO PLAIN

Wildflowers

Tidy tips Poppies & Lupine Goldfields Baby blue-eyes

Fiddleneck Shooting star Thistle sage Owl's clover
Bureau of Land Management

Bakersfield Field Office

3801 Pegasus Drive

Bakersfield, CA 93308

Phone: (661) 391-6000

www.blm.gov/ca/bakersfield

Passport stamp available at the 

Goodwin Education Center

BLM/CA/GI-2014/006+8600