Geography and Climate
Catalina is primarily composed of two distinct rock units: Catalina Schist from the Early Cretaceous (95 to 109 Mya), and Miocene volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks. The island is rich in quartz, to the extent that some beaches on the seaward side have silvery-grey sand. These formations originally occurred on the ocean floor, and emerged from the ocean through tectonic activity. This means that the Santa Catalina Island land-mass was never directly connected to mainland California. Other geologic factors that contributed to the island topography observed today include further geologic uplift and subsidence, tectonic plate movement, sedimentation, metamorphic activity, weathering, and erosion.
Santa Catalina Island has a very mild subtropical climate with warm temperatures year-round. The National Weather Service maintains cooperative weather records at the Santa Catalina airport. The average January temperatures are a maximum of 58.4 °F (14.7 °C) and a minimum of 47.6 °F (8.7 °C). Average July temperatures are a maximum of 78.1 °F (25.6 °C) and a minimum of 60.0 °F (15.6 °C). There are an average of 12.5 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 0.3 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The record high temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) on August 29, 1967, and the record low temperature was 29 °F (−2 °C) on January 11, 1949.
Average annual precipitation at the airport is 11.82 inches (30.0 cm). There are an average of 45 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1952 with 21.74 inches (55.2 cm) and the driest year was 1964 with 5.53 inches (14.0 cm). The most precipitation in one month was 7.81 inches (19.8 cm) in January 1952. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 2.95 inches (7.5 cm) on December 5, 1966. Snowfall is a rarity on the island, averaging only 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) a year at the airport, but 4.0 inches (10 cm) fell in 1949, including 3.0 inches (7.6 cm) in January.
| Climate data for Santa Catalina WB Airport, California | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 59.0 (15) |
61.1 (16.2) |
59.6 (15.3) |
62.3 (16.8) |
65.8 (18.8) |
67.6 (19.8) |
77.9 (25.5) |
80.0 (26.7) |
77.8 (25.4) |
74.6 (23.7) |
66.1 (18.9) |
60.0 (15.6) |
67.7 (19.8) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 48.1 (8.9) |
48.7 (9.3) |
46.8 (8.2) |
49.1 (9.5) |
51.1 (10.6) |
53.2 (11.8) |
59.8 (15.4) |
62.2 (16.8) |
61.5 (16.4) |
59.1 (15.1) |
54.2 (12.3) |
49.5 (9.7) |
53.6 (12) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.80 (45.7) |
1.14 (29) |
1.66 (42.2) |
1.35 (34.3) |
0.17 (4.3) |
0.11 (2.8) |
0.01 (0.3) |
0.01 (0.3) |
0.22 (5.6) |
0.23 (5.8) |
2.38 (60.5) |
2.60 (66) |
11.67 (296.4) |
| Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Santa Catalina Island, California
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