Mescalitan Island

Mescalitan Island was a mesalike island located about 10 miles west of Santa Barbara near the outlet of the Goleta Slough into the Pacific Ocean. The island is where the Chumash Indian village Helo was centered. Early Spanish mission documents note that Juan Crespi, an early visitor, observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents.^[1] The first European explorer in the Goleta area, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, arrived on October 15, 1542. At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships. A Spanish schooner, or 'goleta', reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter. From that point on, the area became known as Goleta.^[2] During a sailing trip to Northern California Cabrillo was injured, later dying of his injuries; according to some accounts he was buried on San Miguel Island. However, according to the local canaliños (Chumash) he was buried on Mescalitan Island.^[3]

Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area. In the 1860s, after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment. In 1941 the Army Corps of Engineers leveled Mescalitan Island to provide fill for a Navy airport.^[4]

The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant.

Location

Mescalitan Island is a former island in the state of California (county of Santa Barbara), located at latitude - longitude coordinates (also known as lat-long or GPS coordinates) of N 34.42166 and W -119.83347. Mescalitan Island is shown in the center of the topographic (topo) map, which is sourced from the United States Geographical Survey map USGS GOLETA quad.^[5]

Topographic Image of the Island

References

1. ^ http://www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov/sccbb/0406bb/Sec%204.11%20Cultural%20Resources.pdf
2. ^ http://www.sbck.org/channels/fall_2003.pdf
3. ^ http://www.gvjh.org/ourschool/index.html
4. ^ http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/rda//docs/masterplan/deir/DEIR_3.6CulturalHistoric.pdf
5. ^ http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lon=-119.8334718&lat=34.421663&datum=nad83

Coordinates: 34°25′18″N 119°50′00″W / 34.42166°N 119.83347°W / 34.42166; -119.83347