Reading Rock State Marine Reserve/State Marine Conservation Area

This is a section of coast where mountains meet the sea, piles of driftwood wash ashore, and creeks empty fresh water into the Pacific Ocean. Visiting on a clear day offers the possibility of seeing Reading Rock offshore, just north of the MPA boundaries. As a prominent sea stack, Reading Rock looks like a small island on the horizon.

Remotely operated vehicle expeditions found that the rocky reefs surrounding Reading Rock are home to vibrantly colored sea stars, club-tipped anemones, and giant acorn barnacles. White-plumed anemones inhabit the tallest of the submerged rocky features, while lingcod, quillback rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and copper rockfish lurk within the rocky rubble.

Seabirds such as the common murre, Brandt's cormorant, western gull, and pigeon guillemot use the rock for roosting and nesting in the spring and are sensitive to human intrusion. Marine mammals such as Steller sea lions and harbor seals use the rock as a resting place, and sharks, skates, and rays swim in the waters below.

Venturing away from the rocky reef, the sea floor gives way to boulders, then cobble, and finally to soft sandy seafloor habitat, the latter of which covers the majority of both the SMR and SMCA.

For centuries, Native American Tribes in California have relied on marine and coastal resources. Many Native American Tribes in California continue to regularly harvest marine resources within their ancestral territories and maintain relationships with the coast for ongoing customary uses. The Yurok are adept at many trades like fishing and canoe making. Dugout canoes allowed ocean and river travel for hunting game and salmon fishing. The ocean gave the Yurok pee-ee (mussels) and chey-gel' (seaweed) which Tribal members believe are essential for health, wealth, and tradition. Through a factual record of historical take within the Reading Rock SMCA, the Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation are exempt from the SMCA regulations.

European settlers quickly moved into northern California in the latter half of the 19th century after the discovery of gold in the state. Many settled in Orick, about two miles inland from the MPA, and approximately 300-400 people still live there today. As the hunt for gold lost momentum, attention shifted to logging in the 1890s. Extensive logging led to the loss of thousands of acres of old-growth redwood trees by the early 1900s. Thousands of acres were acquired by the state in the 1920s to save the remaining redwood forests, which eventually became part of the Redwood National and State parks that border the MPAs today.

Within Reading Rock SMCA, limited commercial and recreational fishing opportunities exist, including take of salmon, surf smelt, and Dungeness crab. From the beach, visitors can point their binoculars towards offshore sea stacks to observe seabirds roosting high above the waves. Murres, guillemots, cormorants, gulls, and auklets are all common along this stretch of coast.

Reading Rock SMR is only accessible by boat. While no marine resources may be taken from the SMR, scuba and free divers may want to try their hand at diving on nearby Reading Rock. Reading Rock provides divers with an opportunity to see the types of marine life that live within the Reading Rock MPAs without having to descend deeper than 100 feet. Fed by nutrient-rich currents, the undersea walls and ledges abound with marine life such as anemones, octopus, halibut, rockfish, lingcod, cabezon, and kelp greenling. Sea lions are often seen around the rock and regularly approach divers, who should be aware that the presence of sea lions may attract large sharks as well.

Reading Rock SMR

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

41° 20.100' N. lat. 124° 10.000' W. long.;
41° 20.100' N. lat. 124° 14.655' W. long.; thence southward along the three nautical mile offshore boundary to
41° 17.600' N. lat. 124° 11.963' W. long.;
41° 17.600' N. lat. 124° 10.000' W. long.; and
41° 20.100' N. lat. 124° 10.000' W. long.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(7)

Reading Rock SMCA

This area is bounded by the mean high tide line and straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed:

41° 20.100' N. lat. 124° 04.911' W. long.;
41° 20.100' N. lat. 124° 10.000' W. long.;
41° 17.600' N. lat. 124° 10.000' W. long.; and
41° 17.600' N. lat. 124° 05.399' W. long.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(6)

Downloads for Reading Rock State Marine Reserve

Map

Facts, Map & Regulations

Downloads for Reading Rock State Marine Conservation Area

Map

Facts, Map & Regulations