University of Southern California also houses its USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies marine lab in Two Harbors.

This, in turn, lies atop the eastern margin of the Pacific plate, a large tectonic plate which mostly consists of the oceanic crust underlying the Pacific Ocean but also incorporates the continental crust of California west of the San Andreas Fault.

The volcanic rock underlying the islands was laid down in undersea eruptions between 19 and 15 million years ago.

[14] About 5 million years ago, the Channel Islands and the onshore east–west ranges, such as the Santa Monica Mountains, were uplifted as a result of tectonic forces from the collision of the northward-moving Baja California peninsula—attached to the Pacific plate—with the North American plate.

Compression of the rocks lifted the islands above sea level in a process of folding and faulting that continues today.

Evidence for ancient shorelines at higher sea levels is visible today as marine terraces along the islands' slopes.

[16] Separated from the California mainland throughout recent geological history, the Channel Islands provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas.

[citation needed] The northern Channel Islands are now known to have been settled by maritime Paleo-Indian peoples at least 13,000 years ago.

The middens in San Miguel Island showed some of the earliest known fishing hooks and specialized tools for processing seafood.

[24] A new type of boat created by the Chumash known as tomol and by the Tongva as te'aats, appeared on the islands around 1,500 BP (500 AD).

Juana Maria's fondness for green corn, vegetables, and fresh fruit caused severe attacks of dysentery.

[2] The Chumash and Tongva were removed from the islands in the early 19th century and taken to Spanish missions and pueblos on the adjacent mainland.

[25] This had significant impacts on island ecosystems, including the local extinction of sea otters, bald eagles, and other species.

As a result, the Channel Islands became an essential stop in the 1850s for Chinese-American fishermen who harvested the abalone and exported them to Hong Kong.

[29] In 1972, in "a bit of political theater", twenty-six Brown Berets sailed to Catalina Island on tourist boats, set up a small encampment near the town of Avalon, put up a Mexican flag, and claimed the island on behalf of all Chicanos, citing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

During World War II all of southern California's Channel Islands were put under military control, including the civilian-populated Santa Catalina where tourism was halted and established residents needed permits to travel to and from the mainland.

[33] San Clemente Island was used to train the Navy's first amphibious force to prepare for Pacific combat against the Japanese in World War II.

Santa Rosa Island was used in 1952 as a base for the USAF 669th AC&W Squadron and they operated two Distant Early Warning FPS-10 radars from the hilltops there.

Santa Rosa Island holds two groves of the Torrey pine subspecies Pinus torreyana var.

Giant kelp forests surround the islands and act as a source of nutrition and protection for other animals.

The Australian blue gum, for example, releases toxins in its leaf litter which prevents other species of plants from growing in the soil surrounding it.

[37] Earthworms, thought to have come from mainland topsoil imported for road construction, are altering the unique ecosystem and microbial communities on San Clemente Island, threatening biodiversity.

Current occurrences of the critically endangered North Pacific right whales and historically abundant Steller's sea lions in these areas are unknown.

Seabirds, including the western gulls, bald eagles, pigeon guillemots, and Scripps's murrelets use the islands as well for shelter and breeding grounds.

[43] In the 1950s, bald eagles and peregrine falcons on the Channel Islands became locally extinct after widespread use of pesticides such as DDT.

Golden eagles, which are natural competitors of other birds of prey, do not primarily feed on these animals and were able to colonize the islands in the early 1990s.

There are several restrictions that limit the type and weight of gear tourists are allowed to bring including transportation–only park/private boats or planes are permitted to enter, fuel transportation, etc.

[49] In order to enforce these restrictions and preserve the MPA, the Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council is in charge of state waters including hiring employees and park workers.

The federal waters remain under the control and protection of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

From years 2003–2013, the MPA network implemented caused fish species to increase in biomass in terms of both size, numbers, and weight per area.