Site Description

Site Description

Location: Eaton Canyon (Pasadena, CA)

Habitat: Chaparral

Dimensions of Site: About 25 paces wide and 50 paces long

Some specific characteristics of our area of Eaton Canyon was that the soil was very dusty and dry, almost like sand. There was sparse ground cover, which was more common in shaded areas. However, our area was mostly sunny and dry. The most common plant in our area was black sage. The area was a dried up river bed and it's bank. As a result, it had a lower level and higher level of ground. The lower level (which was the river bed) was populated by black sage and a few young western sycamores. It was also much rockier than the higher level of our area. On the higher, riverbank area, there was whipple yucca, prickly pear cacti, and more black sage. There was also some black mustard. There was also evidence of plants on the way to our site, with one of the most common trees being oak trees and an abundance of poison oak. We also saw a variety of animal species, too. There was an Audubon's Cottontail inside a bush, and there were also many Great Basin Fence Lizards sunning themselves on the rocks. Some insects that were in the area include Pallid-winged Grasshoppers and honeybees. There was evidence of birds such as the sound of a woodpecker in a nearby tree. We also saw many other birds flying in and out of trees, including a bluejay. We also found evidence of deer present in the area because there were deer tracks in the dirt.