Editing Santa Barbara Channel (section)

==Prehistory==
Prior to the [[Holocene]] era sea levels were considerably lower, such that the water width separating the islands from the mainland was much less, making [[biological colonization]] as well as human transport across the channel easier. In recent times the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Chumash people]]s navigated these waters with ease in [[Tomol|small watercraft]], allowing communication and trade between island and mainland villages. C. Michael Hogan reviews some of the theories of colonization of the [[rare species]] [[Torrey Pine]], ''[[Pinus torreyana]]'' to the islands, suggesting that it is likely that Chumash peoples carried the initial cones in their Tomols.<ref>* C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Morro Creek'', [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18502 The Megalithic Portal], ed. by A. Burnham</ref> The [[pygmy mammoth]], an extinct, endemic species, were capable swimmers able to cross the channel and adapt to the island environment by [[insular dwarfism]].