Located between Anacapa and Santa Rosa Islands, it lies from 19-25 miles off the adjacent mainland coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara. Lying directly on the boundary between cold northern and warm southern waters, this island hosts unique plant, animal, and marine communities representing nearly 1000 miles of coastline. According to legend, Santa Cruz Island was named for a priest's staff accidentally left on the island during the Portola expedition of 1769. A Chumash Indian found the cross-tipped stave and returned it to the priest. Today, Santa Cruz Island is divided between The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service.
Geologists believe that the island never has been attached to the mainland.
Nestled between two mountain ranges that rise above 2,000 feet, is a pastoral Central Valley that was, and still is, being created by a major earthquake fault. Permanent and seasonal water sources, plus a number of microclimates, support over 650 species of plants and trees in ten different plant communities, from marshes and grasslands to chaparral and pine forests. Springtime is a patchwork of blooming annuals, sometimes seen from the mainland as bright splashes of color. Over 140 land bird species have been identified here. This bird is one-third bigger and much bluer than the mainland scrub jay.