Santa Cruz Island (Spanish: Isla Santa Cruz, Chumash: Limuw) is located off the southwestern coast of California, United States. It is the largest island in California, and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands archipelago. Forming part of the northern group of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz is 22mi long and 2 to 6mi wide with an area of 61764.6acre. The island's coastline has steep cliffs, large sea caves, coves, and sandy beaches. The highest point is Devils Peak, at over 2450ft. A central valley splits the island along the Santa Cruz Island Fault, with volcanic rock on the north and older sedimentary rock on the south. This volcanic rock was heavily fractured during an uplift phase that formed the island, and over a hundred large sea caves have been carved into the resulting faults. The largest of these is Painted Cave, among the world's largest. For administrative purposes the island is part of Santa Barbara County, California. The 2000 census showed an official population of two people. Santa Cruz was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States. Ownership is split between the National Park Service (24%) and the Nature Conservancy (76%). Santa Cruz Island is home to some endemic species of animals and plants, including the Santa Cruz Island fox (Urocyon littoralis santacruzae), a subspecies of the island fox.
