UCSC Natural History Tour

Aerial view of mima mounds, i.e. the circles, dotting the ridge of the lower UCSC campus, 2010. Image courtesy of and © William Hyder.
Aerial view of mima mounds, i.e. the circles, dotting the ridge of the lower UCSC campus, 2010. Image courtesy of and © William Hyder.

UCSC has countless hidden treasures and unique features that span across campus land. This tour will take you from forests, to meadows with repeating circles above the surface, to karst caves below the surface. This five stop UCSC campus walking/driving tour will uncover many hidden secrets that will point out features you almost certainly didn’t know about. We highlight a few stops below but all five can be read by downloading the mobile app, Mobile Ranger Guides, or blog-style, at the bottom of the page.

A screen shot of the stops and the interactive map feature in the self-guided mobile tour.
A screen shot of the stops and the interactive map feature in the self-guided mobile tour.

How the heck did koi ever get to the redwood forest of Pogonip?

The beautiful Koi pond at Pogonip is a favorite destination. Photo courtesy of https://localwiki.org/media/cache/87/84/878463186b13764aaf971fe1992e79ce.jpg
The beautiful koi pond at Pogonip is a favorite destination. Photo courtesy of Alex Darocy.

Cave Gulch: Not just a party cave. Why are there so many caves in Cave Gulch?

Empire Cave (or Porter Cave) Photo © Lauren McEvoy.
Empire Cave (or Porter Cave). Photo © Lauren McEvoy.

Below the buildings: The interconnectedness between caves, karst and the plight of UCSC’s building engineers and contractors.

Sinkhole near East Remote Parking Lot. Photo courtesy of UCSC Environmental Studies Department
Sinkhole near East Remote Parking Lot. Photo courtesy of UCSC Environmental Studies Department.

InPostGetApp

Go to Mobile Ranger Guides in the Apple App Store
Go to Mobile Ranger Guides in the Google Play Store

Can’t get to the UCSC campus? No Problem.
Read the stories below: blog-style!

About The Author

Ranger Salazar

Lauren McEvoy is a naturalist and Santa Cruz native with a passion for teaching through writing. She graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2015. Lauren worked for Mobile Ranger as an intern and created a self-guided natural history tour of the UCSC campus. After graduation she has come back to Mobile Ranger to write and help things run smoothly.

Related posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Mobile Ranger

We provide you with inspiring stories and fun information about the natural and human history of interesting places. It's like having a park ranger with you.

Our one-of-a-kind self-guided mobile tours and blog posts help you connect to a place, either outside, at the site, or from your living room.

Download our apps about the Santa Cruz coast or read our blog posts about Santa Cruz, greater California, and beyond.

Local Knowledge and Passion

We work with historians, naturalists, and organizations whose experts know and love particular places. We use their deep knowledge to create great stories that bring their favorite places alive for you.

Do you or an organization you work or volunteer for have photos and high-quality natural or human history information about your local place? If you want to get it into an app and up on the web, contact Chief Ranger Julia Gaudinski: julia@mobileranger.com