2014

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a state park in Monterey County, California near the area of Big Sur on the state’s Central Coast. It covers approximately 1,006 acres (4.07 km2) of land. The park is centered on the Big Sur River. It has been nicknamed a "mini Yosemite." Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is known for its redwood groves and trail to Pfeiffer Falls. Many of these trails were closed during 2009 due to damage from the Basin Complex Fire, but most are now re-opened. The exception is the Pfeiffer Falls Trial which remains closed due to extensive damage to wooden foot crossings from the 2013 Pfeiffer Fire. The trail is scheduled for restoration work to begin in 2016. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is named after John Pfeiffer, who lived in a cabin on the property beginning in 1884. He was the son of Michael Pfeiffer and Barbara Laquet, the Pfeiffer family immigrated from Germany and were amongst the first European settlers in the area. Many features in Big Sur are named for the descendants of the Pfeiffers. In 1930, John Pfeiffer had the opportunity to sell his land to a Los Angeles developer for $210,000. The developer wanted to build a subdivision on the land. Instead, Pfeiffer sold 700 acres (2.8 km2) to the state of California in 1933. California redwoods are among the oldest living things on Earth. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood trees have been cut down.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a state park in Monterey County, California near the area of Big Sur on the state’s Central Coast. It covers approximately 1,006 acres (4.07 km2) of land. The park is centered on the Big Sur River. It has been nicknamed a "mini Yosemite." Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is known for its redwood groves and trail to Pfeiffer Falls. Many of these trails were closed during 2009 due to damage from the Basin Complex Fire, but most are now re-opened. The exception is the Pfeiffer Falls Trial which remains closed due to extensive damage to wooden foot crossings from the 2013 Pfeiffer Fire. The trail is scheduled for restoration work to begin in 2016. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is named after John Pfeiffer, who lived in a cabin on the property beginning in 1884. He was the son of Michael Pfeiffer and Barbara Laquet, the Pfeiffer family immigrated from Germany and were amongst the first European settlers in the area. Many features in Big Sur are named for the descendants of the Pfeiffers. In 1930, John Pfeiffer had the opportunity to sell his land to a Los Angeles developer for $210,000. The developer wanted to build a subdivision on the land. Instead, Pfeiffer sold 700 acres (2.8 km2) to the state of California in 1933. California redwoods are among the oldest living things on Earth. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood trees have been cut down.

Andrew Molera State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving relatively undeveloped land on the Big Sur coast. Situated at the mouth of the Big Sur River, the property was part of the Rancho El Sur land grant, and later owned by the Cooper-Molera ranching family. The park is named in commemoration of Andrew Molera, who popularized the artichoke in California in 1922. His sister Frances Molera made the name a condition when she sold the property to The Nature Conservancy in 1965 Andrew Molera State Park has over 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails. Some run along the shore, others along the Big Sur River, while still others climb to high ridges with views of the entire Big Sur coast

Not all jellies sting, but the sea nettle does. It hunts tiny drifting animals by trailing its long tentacles and frilly mouth-arms, all covered with stinging cells. When the tentacles touch prey, the stinging cells paralyze it and stick tight. From there, the prey is moved to the mouth-arms and finally to the mouth, where it’s digested.

Phacellophora camtschatica, known as the fried egg jellyfish or egg-yolk jellyfish, is a very large jellyfish, with a bell up to 60 cm (2 ft) in diameter and sixteen clusters of up to a few dozen tentacles, each up to 6 metres (20 ft) long. Like a large bird egg cracked and poured into the water, that three-foot, translucent bell is yolk-yellow at the center, with hundreds of tentacles clustered around the margin. The egg-yolk jelly is one of the larger species of jellies commonly found in Monterey Bay. This massive jelly usually drifts motionless or moves with gentle pulsing. Acting like an underwater spider web with a mild sting, an egg-yolk jelly captures other jellies that swim into its mass of tentacles. For their part, many animals rely on egg-yolk jellies and other gelatinous creatures for food, including sea turtles, at least 50 species of fishes (like the ocean sunfish) and marine birds (like the northern fulmar). Because the sting of this jellyfish is so weak, many small crustaceans, including larval crabs (Cancer gracilis) and Amphipoda, regularly hitchhike inside and on top of its bell and even steal food from its oral arms and tentacles. Young jack fish often can be found swimming among their tentacles.