Carrizo Plains National Monument

The Carrizo Plain Natural Area became the Carrizo Plain National Monument in January 2001 by presidential proclamation. The beautiful Carrizo Plain stretches for 250,000 acres along the base of the Temblor Mountains.

The vast grasslands of Carrizo Plain sustain a variety of California’s threatened and endangered plants and wildlife animals. It is a large protected habitat along the Pacific Flyway. Soda Lake and the alkaline wetlands around it attract migratory shorebirds, making it a birder’s paradise in winter. In spring, Carrizo’s sprawling rolling grasslands thrill visitors with a spectacular setting of wildflower super bloom.