The islands harbor 150 unique species of plant. The Channel Islands and the surrounding waters house a diverse ecosystem with many endemic species and subspecies. military uses the islands as training grounds, weapons test sites, and as a strategic defensive location. The Chumash and Tongva Native Americans who lived later on the islands may be the descendants of the original inhabitants, but they were then displaced by Spaniards who used the islands for fishing and agriculture. They are the easternmost islands in the Pacific Island group. The islands were inhabited as early as 13,000 years ago, the earliest paleontological evidence of humans in North America. The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in establishing the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Five of the islands are within the Channel Islands National Park, and the waters surrounding these islands make up Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, and the four Southern Channel Islands are part of the Peninsular Ranges province. Visitors can also get a sense of the historic landscape along the Historic Ditch Walk in downtown Menard that features several historic sites, including the presidio, and walk along the irrigation canal first cut by the Spanish in the 1750s and still used by local farmers today.The Channel Islands ( Spanish: islas del Canal, Archipiélago del Norte) are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. Landscaping with native plants and interpretive materials help visitors to visualize what the area looked like in the mid-18th century. Today the Site of Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas, also known as Presidio San Sabá, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The presidio was reconstructed by a Works Progress Administration project in 1936. Visitors can walk through the site, picnic near the stone walls, and enjoy the interpretive panels that detail the history of the presidio and mission. For more information about the site, visitors can stop by the reconstructed site of the Presidio San Sabá. A historical marker plaque designates the site today, but there are no visible structures. The Texas Centennial Marker is along the highway immediately beside an alfalfa field. The San Sabá Mission site is three miles east of Menard on Farm-to-Market Road 2092. Mission Santa Cruz de Sabá is a reminder of the complex and sometimes violent interactions among American Indian groups and the Spanish and demonstrates how the Lipan Apache strategically used alliances with the Spanish and missions. A Works Progress Administration project rebuilt a portion of the fort for the Texas Centennial in 1936, and today it is open to the public. Its more permanent construction made the location easier to find in the 20th century. The presidio only lasted until 1769, when it and the 130-mile swath of land leading to San Antonio were finally abandoned to the Comanche and their allies. In contrast, the Presidio San Sabá was rebuilt of stone in 1761, sending a message to French and American Indian groups that the Spanish intended to stay. Weather and soil tilling over time erased the above-surface features and a large portion of the sub-surface features. During the Indian raid in 1758, fire destroyed most of the mission's temporary structures of wood, wattle, and daub. Today, the site is a Texas Historic Landmark and the Presidio San Sabá is on the National Register of Historic Places.Īlthough the events at Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá were well documented and the Lipan Apache remembered them in oral histories, San Sabá's location was lost for most of the 20th century and was the subject of searches for many decades. It was once called "the lost mission of Texas" because its exact location was unknown until the early 1990s. The Lipan Apache, however, had enemies among the Comanche and other northern Texas Indian groups, who, after learning that their enemies would be at the mission, attacked and burned the mission. The Mission San Sabá was established in 1757 for the Lipan Apache. One particularly well-documented event was the destruction of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá, near what is today Menard, Texas. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.ĭuring the Spanish period in Texas, complex interactions between the American Indian groups and the Spanish and French sometimes culminated in violence with missions at the center. "The Destruction of Mission San Sabá in the Province of Texas and the Martyrdom of the Fathers Alonso de Terreros, Joseph Santiesteban.” Painted 7 years after the events, depicts a Spanish interpretation of the destruction of the mission.Īttributed to Jose de Paez, 1765.
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