Three hundred years ago, California’s Central Valley was vast grassland where antelope and elk grazed and wildflowers swept the spring landscape. Today, amid urban and agriculture development, a remnant remains in the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of the best kept secrets in California. Only a few hours from Los Angeles, the Carrizo Plain offers visitors a rare chance to be alone with nature. Some visitors say you can "hear the silence." The plain is home to diverse communities of wildlife and plant species including several listed as threatened or endangered and is an area culturally important to Native Americans.

This remote monument, traversed by the San Andreas Fault which has carved valleys, created and moved mountains, and yet up close, is seen in subtle alignment of ridges, ravines and normally dry ponds. Prominent features on the monument include the white alkali flats of Soda Lake, Painted Rock, vast open grasslands, and a broad plain rimmed by mountains. When conditions are right, numerous wildflowers can carpet the valley floor; although short lived it can be breathtaking.

Soda Lake, normally a dry lake bed, is one of the dominant geographic features of the Carrizo Plain. It is the largest remaining natural alkali wetland in southern California and the only closed basin within the coastal mountains. As its name suggests, Soda Lake concentrates salts as water evaporates, leaving white deposits of sulfates and carbonates that look like baking soda.

Source: BLM Website (March 2023)

Establishment Carrizo Plain National Monument — January 17, 2001

For More Information Please Visit The OFFICIAL BLM WEBSITE

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

Date Unknown	Recreation Map & Guide 2017
1998		Two Self-Guide Geologic Auto Tours 1998		Traver Ranch January 2004	Wallace Creek Interpretive Trail Date Unknown
Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles Date Unknown	Checklist of Mammals August 2008	Sandhill Cranes Date Unknown	Birds of the Carrizo Plain National Monument November 2010

Annual Manager's Report: 2021, Carrizo Plain National Monument (Johna Hurl, 2021)

Annual Manager's Report: 2022, Carrizo Plain National Monument (Johna Hurl, 2022)

Carrizo Plan National Monument Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project (Jennifer Buck-Diaz and Julie Evens, 2011)

Geologic Guide to Elkhorn Road, Carrizo Plain National Monument (David Chipping, Date Unknown)

Geologic Road Guide to Soda Lake Road (David Chipping, Date Unknown)

Junior Explorer Field Guide, Carrizo Plain National Monument (BLM, undated)

Map: Carrizo Plan National Monument (BLM, April 2007)

Map: Carrizo Plan National Monument (BLM, 2015)

Plant List (2012)

Proclamation 7393—Establishment of the Carrizo Plain National Monument (William J. Clinton, January 17, 2001)

Record of Decision and Resource Management Plan (April 2010)

Regional Geologic Map of San Andreas and Related Faults in Carrizo Plain, Temblor, Caliente and La Panza Ranges and Vicinity, California; A Digital Database U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-014 (T.W. Dibblee, comp., 1999)

Travel Map (BLM, undated)

Visitor Guides: 2023-2024 (Friends of the Carizzo Plain)