Mattole Canyon State Marine Reserve

beach at sunset

Overview

Mattole Canyon State Marine Reserve (SMR) consists of nearly 10 square miles of protected offshore waters within Humboldt County in northern California. This SMR protects submarine canyon, deep sandy seafloor, and offshore reef habitats. The deep submarine canyon, known as Mattole Canyon, extends into the sea from Mattole Valley, which is located on the adjacent, undeveloped stretch of coastline known as the Lost Coast. About three-quarters of a square mile of this marine protected area (MPA) is submarine canyon, with deep trenches where sablefish and thornyhead rockfish live.

This SMR ranges from 80 feet to nearly 1,650 feet deep in parts of the submarine canyon. The cold, rough waters are subject to seasonal upwelling that sends nutrients from the deep ocean into the water column, creating highly productive conditions. In the depths near the sandy seafloor, red octopus, petrale sole, kelp greenling, mushroom soft coral, and feather stars feed on plankton, shrimp and other crustaceans, and fields of white-plumed anemones dot the seafloor.

Regulations

It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(13)(opens in new tab)

Quick Facts

MPA size: 9.79 square miles

Depth range: 82 to 1,646 feet

Habitat composition*:

Rock: 0.78 square miles
Sand: 9.02 square miles

*Habitat calculations are based on three-dimensional area and may exceed the total MPA area listed above.

About Mattole Canyon State Marine Reserve

Natural History

a group of rockfish in deep ocean water — **Canary rockfish near Mattole Canyon SMR**. *CDFW/MARE photo.*

Mattole Canyon SMR includes part of a deep submarine canyon located along the continental margin, where it connects the deep sea to the continental shelf. Constant erosion by swift ocean currents carved Mattole Canyon from the sea floor over a long period of time. Extending for nearly 17 miles, Mattole Canyon increases in depth until it merges with the Mendocino Canyon to the north.

Submarine canyons are geologically and biologically diverse, with a wide range of habitats that support many different forms of marine life, from soft corals to crustaceans, to deep-sea octopuses. Sandy seafloor habitat in Mattole Canyon lacks the typical mounds and holes created by marine creatures, because rapid currents sweep through the canyon, smoothing out the seafloor sediments. The soft sandy seafloor is interspersed with patches of rocky reef, where canary rockfish, lingcod, and quillback rockfish find shelter from the strong currents. Heavy seas, unpredictable currents, and strong winds have resulted in many shipwrecks along the Lost Coast.

Cultural History

a river meets the ocean below a steep hillside with old fencing and a shed — **View of Mattole Canyon SMR and Mattole River from Prosper Ridge Rd.** *CDFW photo by M. Robbins.*

For centuries, Native American tribes in California have relied on marine and coastal resources. Many of the indigenous people in California continue to regularly harvest marine resources within their ancestral territories and maintain relationships with the coast for ongoing customary uses. Mattole Canyon is named for the Mattole Tribe, the indigenous people native to this stretch of Mendocino coast. The Mattole Tribe relied on harvesting food from the sea, including salmon and mollusks. Most tribes were displaced when European settlers arrived. The 19th century gold rush brought more settlers, disrupting thousands of years of marine stewardship. Today, the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria exists as a federally recognized tribe, with roots in the Cape Mendocino area.

Mattole Canyon SMR is located about three miles north of Punta Gorda, one of the westernmost points in the continental United States. A light station was established at Punta Gorda in 1912, a feat made difficult by the remote, rugged location and lack of roads.

The U.S. Coast Guard assumed command of the Punta Gorda Light Station and constructed a rough beach road to it in 1935, but the road was often impassible, especially during the winter months. In 1951, the Coast Guard placed a lighted whistle buoy offshore and decommissioned the Punta Gorda Light Station. Control of the Punta Gorda Light Station eventually fell to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Groups of squatters took up residence in the buildings in the 1960s and, unable to keep people from residing there, BLM burned the wooden structures to the ground. Today, all that remains is the concrete lighthouse, oil house, and a few concrete pads where other structures once stood.

Recreation

gray and golden skies meet jagged coastline with sparse vegetation along sandy beaches — **View from Mattole trailhead looking north near Mattole Canyon SMR**. *photo © C. Allison, MPA Collaborative Network.*

Mattole Canyon SMR is located off the Lost Coast, a remote and isolated expanse of wilderness. Mattole Trailhead lies at the mouth of the Mattole River and is the northern entrance to the epic Lost Coast Trail that spans roughly 25 miles of dramatic coastal landscapes.

Mattole Canyon SMR is a no-take marine reserve, where fishing is prohibited. Catch-and-release fishing for salmon and steelhead trout is popular in the nearby Mattole River, but regulations prohibit fishing within 200 yards of the river mouth. In the waters outside of the Mattole Canyon SMR, recreational fishermen brave the turbulent seas in hopes of catching Dungeness crab, albacore, lingcod, and cabezon.

To access the closest campground, turn off of Mattole Road onto Lighthouse Road and take the road about five miles to a BLM campground right on Mattole Beach.

Coordinates

This area is bounded by straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed except where noted:

40° 20.000′ N. lat. 124° 22.500′ W. long.;
40° 20.000′ N. lat. 124° 25.902′ W. long.; thence southward along the three nautical mile offshore boundary to
40° 17.000′ N. lat. 124° 25.869′ W. long.;
40° 17.000′ N. lat. 124° 22.500′ W. long.; and
40° 20.000′ N. lat. 124° 22.500′ W. long.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(13)