California Mediterranean Research Learning Center National Park Service
California Mediterranean Research Learning Center: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
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Cabrillo National Monument
Xanthus chick
Xanthus chick
Cabrillo National Monument Facts:
• Created on October 14, 1913 to memorialize the first European expedition to the North American West Coast, led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
• Cabrillo National Monument comprises more than 160 acres of coastal environment
• The park is located on a 400-foot peninsula near between the Pacific Ocean and the adjacent city of San Diego
• Cabrillo National Monument is the highest point on Cabrillo National Monument, whose light shown at 465 feet above sea level
• Old Point Loma Lighthouse, one of the first on the West Coast, is the highest point on Cabrillo National Monument, at 46 feet
• Cabrillo National Monument welcomes 1,100,000 visitors per year
• The park is known for its well-preserved rocky intertidal areas and its views of the adjacent landscapes and annual gray whale migrations
Please contact the Cabrillo National Monument for more information at (619) 557-5450, or visit their website at www.nps.gov/cabr.

Social Science

As urban sprawl consumes useable land in California and exhausts our natural resources, areas like Cabrillo National Monument become increasingly precious and rare.

The National Park Service and the California Mediterranean Research Learning Center (CMRLC) encourage exploration and social science research in an effort to ensure quality visitor experiences and prevent adverse impacts to the park's natural and cultural resources. Researchers can pursue answers to questions regarding the interplay between economics, sociology, ecology, land use, and politics that link Cabrillo National Monument to the city of San Diego and beyond (including neighboring Mexico) through the Center.

Current Research
Relatively little social science research has been conducted in the park, although there is recognition that much work is needed. To date, most studies have focused on the following:

• Understanding visitor trends and demographics, as associated with specific park planning projects (e.g. tide pool management and visitation)
• Detailed visitor use statistics and geographic information that includes land use, jurisdictional, political, and natural and cultural resource data
• The impacts of visitation with Cabrillo's intertidal area to determine the effects of trampling on resources within the park

Research Opportunities
The National Park Service hopes to significantly expand social science research within Cabrillo National Monument. Topics of interest include:

• Understanding how an evolving American social structure affects park management efforts, particularly with respect to the changing social, ethnic, and demographic composition of California
• Studying the effects of the changing demographic composition of California in relation to demand for park-related services and political support
• Exploring strategic outreach possibilities to emerging publics
• Researching visitor capacity standards, including effective use of scientific information in choosing social or biological indicators of visitor capacity and understanding how variation in visitor use affects park resources and visitor experience quality
• Understanding connections between people and nature by measuring the psychological and physical benefits of parklands

Researchers in Cabrillo National Monument have access to an extensive geographic information system (GIS) database that includes land use, demographic, jurisdictional, political, and natural and cultural resource data.

The National Park Service looks forward to working with researchers to explore novel opportunities and facilitate future studies in Cabrillo National Monument through the CMRLC. Please contact Cabrillo National Monument for more information at (619) 557-5450 or visit their website at www.nps.gov/cabr.

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