Site Description- Eaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon
Chaparral Habitat
About 50 meters in diameter

There was a plenty going on in our area. We sat on a log at the center that was seemed to be a Coast Live Oak. The log had been eaten out by termites and had lost most of its bark. About 5 meters to the west of the log was an old rusty pipe. It was clearly broken and looked like it hadn't been used for quite some time. On the contrary, there was a new pipe that was in-use to our north-west. Crossing right in front of the log to the north was a trail that led up further north into the canyon and up a hill to the east. To the south of the log was a flat clearing that was surrounded by Coast Live Oak and Sycamore trees. The log was surrounded on every side by huge amounts of smell dead shrubs that range in variety, height, and life (more or less dried up or green). Some of the plants included Horseweed (Conyza canadensis), Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), Deer Weed (Lotus scoparius), Telegraph Weed (Heterotheca grandiflora), a White Alder tree (Alnus rhombifolia), some dead Dodder (Cuscuta spp.), Scale-broom (Lepidospartum squamatum), and many more that were unrecognizable because they were dried up. We did not see much wildlife except for two Western Whiptail Lizards (Cnemidophorus tigris) and a few unrecognizable birds that flew overhead. There was a small animal burrow about 10 meters to the north of the log that was currently uninhabited but appeared to have been a previous home for some species of rodent. It was about one meter by one meter and the opening was only big enough for a human hand to fit through. Two meters south of the there was a small, white feather on the ground that looked like it had belonged to a seagull or some kind of white bird. Directly next to the log was a pile of scat that seemed to have come from either a squirrel, gopher, or mouse (California Ground Squirrel, Botta's Pocket Gopher, or California Pocket Mouse). The main feeling of the overall area is dry, rocky, and practically lifeless.