it might eventually be carried inshore by natural forces to replenish the beaches. Recent surveys indicate that most of this sand still remains where deposited. Local interests assert that the presence of the breakwater has had a deleterious effect on the sand beaches to the east and desire that some plan be devised whereby the shoaling may be prevented or that dredged spoil be disposed of after removal to the advantage of the beaches east of the breakwater. They believe that the supply of sand drifting eastward from the vicinity of Point Conception which at present is intercepted by the breakwater and shoals the harbor entrance is sufficient to maintain their beaches satisfactorily.

6. The Board has made a careful study of sand movements, currents, waves, wind, and rainfall at the locality and the resulting changes in the shore line and in offshore depths along this portion of the coast. It has studied the accretion westward of the breakwater, as computed from surveys between February 1931 and March 1937, and has determined that the average annual amount of accretion west of the Santa Barbara breakwater is about 270,000 cubic yards, and that this is probably fed to the beaches by tributary streams along the coast. west of the breakwater to Point Conception.

7. The Board finds that the denudation of the beach east of the Santa Barbara breakwater is primarily caused by the impounding of littorally drifting sand by the breakwater. It discusses four plans for the replenishment of the sand supply from the denuded beaches, two of which would result in the abandonment or serious shoaling of the harbor. It recommends the adoption of a plan proposed by the district engineer of the locality under which materials dredged from the harbor in connection with its maintenance be deposited along the shore to the eastward, the additional cost of disposal thereof to be borne by local interests. It concludes that the estimated cost of maintenance dredging, which, based on previous experience, is found to be $30,000 per year, may be considered as the Federal interest involved and recommends that, of the cost of the works proposed, a share be borne by the United States to be contributed in the performance of dredging as herein proposed to the extent authorized by law, any excess cost involved to be borne by local interests.

8. After due consideration of the report I concur in general in the views and recommendations of the Board. I do not consider that there are any Federal interests involved. However, if local interests adopt a project for the restoration of the beaches at the locality in accordance with the plan recommended by the Board, I find no objection to depositing thereon materials dredged in the maintenance of Santa Barbara Harbor, any additional expense to be borne by local interests. In view of the general value of the material contained in the Board's report and the public interests involved therein, I recommend that the report with its accompanying plates be published.

J. L. SCHLEY,
Major General,
Chief of Engineers.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,

BEACH EROSION BOARD,
Washington, January 15, 1938.

Subject: Beach erosion study at Santa Barbara, Calif.
To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army

SYLLABUS

The Board is of the opinion that the most immediately practicable method of alleviating the serious condition of erosion along the beaches to the east of Stearns wharf at Santa Barbara, Calif., is by depositing approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the harbor along a length of 1 mile of beach to the east of Stearns wharf, in accordance with a plan proposed by the district engineer, United States Engineer Office, Los Angeles, Calif. The sand so deposited will move eastward under the normal ocean forces to improve the beaches to the leeward. It is recommended that surveys and photographs be made periodically of the entire shore line from Stearns wharf to Sandyland after the dredged material is deposited. The resulting data should be furnished this Board after a year's observation for its use in making a supplementary report recommending any modifications of plans including the proper location and design of groins, or other protective works, if found necessary.

Since there is an adopted Federal project for the maintenance of the Santa Barbara Harbor, it is recommended that a share of the cost of the works proposed be borne by the United States Government and contributed in the performance of dredging operations to the extent authorized by law. Any excess cost involved is to be borne by local interests.

I. INVESTIGATION ORDERED

1. Authority.--Under the provisions of section 2 of the River and Harbor Act, approved July 3, 1930 (Public, No. 520, 71st Cong.) and an act approved June 26, 1936 (Public, No. 834, 74th Cong.), a cooperative investigation and study of erosion and allied phenomena on the beaches adjacent to the city and county of Santa Barbara, Calif., has been made by the United States (acting through the Chief of Engineers, the Beach Erosion Board, and the District Engineer, Los Angeles, Calif.), and the city and county of Santa Barbara, Calif. (acting through the Board of Harbor Commissioners and the City Engineer of Santa Barbara, Calif.).

2. Approval.-A formal joint application for the study from the Board of Supervisors of the county of Santa Barbara and the Mayor of Santa Barbara, Calif., dated November 12, 1936, was approved by the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, by fifth endorsement dated January 9, 1937.

3. Purpose. The object of the study was to determine the causes of serious erosion on the beaches from Santa Barbara Point to the mouth of Carpinteria Creek and to find the best method of restoring the beaches and preventing future erosion.

4. Outline of work.-The work to be done in this study, as outlined in part IV of the application, which was based on a prior agreement with the Beach Erosion Board, was as follows:

(a) A study of shore-line changes as far back as authentic maps are available to cover the area from Santa Barbara Point to the mouth of Carpinteria Creek.

(b) A study of changes in the offshore area by comparison of the 6-, 12-, and 18-foot depth curves from hydrographic surveys as far back as authentic surveys are available for the area listed under item (a).

(c) Profiles approximately normal to the shore line to extend from the dune or cliff line to a depth of -25 feet mean lower low water. These profiles to be referred to a permanently monumented base line which is tied into existing Coast and Geodetic Survey monuments. The profiles to be spaced at approximately 500-foot intervals covering the area from Santa Barbara Point to easterly city

limits; eastward from the city limits to Carpinteria Creek, the profiles are to be spaced at 1,000-foot intervals and to include a profile at each pronounced projection of the coast.

(d) Current measurements to be made by means of subsurface floats for the offshore areas and by means of colored water and surface floats for shore currents to depths of -2 feet mean lower low water. These current measurements are to be made at the following points across lines approximately perpendicular to the shore line: (1) At Santa Barbara Point; (2) on the first profile line west of the breakwater; (3) on the first profile east of Stearn's wharf; (4) on the profile at the eastern city limits of Santa Barbara; (5) at Edgecliffe Point; (6) at Fernald Point; (7) at Loon Point; and (8) at Sand Point.

(e) Tide readings during the period of all surveys to be made by means of a staff gage at the end of Stearn's wharf.

(f) A study of wind and weather conditions from existing records. This study is to consist of a wind rose from existing records covering as long a period as possible and an historical account of the results on the beach of all types of weather conditions, particularly storm conditions.

(g) Plans and specifications of all existing protective works in the area with a brief history of their results on the beach.

(h) Sand samples to be taken on the beach at midtide elevation. These samples to consist of approximately one-half pint of sand taken to a depth of 2 inches. The samples to be analyzed for median diameter, Abrams fineness modulus, porosity, and specific gravity. The samples to be taken at each profile line and approximately 1,000 feet up each of the prominent streams within the area under investigation.

(i) Photographs of the area under investigation which will show the changes in the condition of the beach as far back as such photographs exist.

(j) Borings to be made at the high-water mark, on each profile line, to a depth of 18 feet mean low water, or to rock if found above that depth.

(k) Report on the character of all streams within the area under investigation, giving duration of flood periods and type of material discharged into ocean during normal and flood periods.

(1) A general diagrammatic sketch showing the character of the shore line and beach.

(m) Report by the Beach Erosion Board on the causes of the erosion and a recommendation as to the best method of restoring and stabilizing the beach.

5. The city and county of Santa Barbara completed the field work and furnished the data required under items (c), (g), (i), (j), and (1) of the above outline as its contribution of one-half of the cost of the study. The United States, through the district engineer and the Beach Erosion Board, completed the remainder of the field and office work.

6. The area under investigation has been inspected by members and representatives of the Board during the course of this study.

II. LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE TERRITORY

7. Location.-Santa Barbara is located on the southern coast of California, 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 320 miles southeast of San Francisco. The city occupies a sandy lowland area along a small cove on the north side of Santa Barbara Channel. This channel is located between the mainland and a chain of four islands-San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa Islands-lying roughly parallel with the coast from 25 to 40 miles offshore (pl. 1).

8. Description.-Santa Barbara, with a population of 35,000, is the principal city of Santa Barbara County, which has a total population of 65,000. It is a modern, thriving city which serves a hinterland of approximately 400 square miles devoted principally to agriculture and the production of crude oil. There are many large estates, hotels, and recreational facilities in the immediate vicinity. Santa Barbara is served by the coastal line of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Highway, a trunk thoroughfare which

parallels the coast. The city of Santa Barbara is a well-established seashore health resort with an exceptionally mild all-year-round climate. 9. The coast in the vicinity of Santa Barbara is generally rugged. It lies roughly in an east and west direction. It is characterized by projecting headlands of rock, boulders, or other erosion resisting material, with intervening coves having boulder-covered shores or sandy beaches. The stony shores and sandy beaches are backed by high bluffs of soft material with imbedded boulders which mark the outer edge of the mesa lands, or by narrow, flat areas separating the foothills of the Santa Inez Mountains from the sea. Numerous small streams, with torrential flow during rainy seasons, run through the mesa lands and empty into the sea. These streams drain narrow basins averaging 5 miles in width, including the seaward slopes of the Santa Inez Mountains. When in flood, large quantities of debris are brought to the shore by these streams.

10. The underwater slopes along the Pacific coast are much steeper than those along the Atlantic coast. At Santa Barbara the 10-fathom curve lies from 1 to 11⁄2 miles offshore and the 100-fathom curve is 6 to 10 miles offshore. Depths in Santa Barbara Channel, at a point about 15 miles off the California coast, exceed 2,000 feet. There are kelp beds at many places from 1,000 to 3,000 feet wide, growing on rocks or loose boulders lying approximately parallel with the shore line and from 1,000 feet to 1 mile offshore at depths of 30 to 40 feet.

11. The coast from Santa Barbara Point to Carpinteria Creek, the section particularly pertinent to this study, is exposed to storms and waves from the southwest, south, and southeast, except the small sheltered area of the harbor, described in paragraph 14. The protection afforded by the "Channel Islands," although from 25 to 40 miles offshore, is indicated by smaller wind waves when the wind blows from the south, due to the limited fetch. The large ocean swells, propagated from disturbances or winds far out at sea, strike this coast directly from the southwest.

12. Southeast winds prevail at Santa Barbara for all months of the year. Gales are rare, but winds of that classification or approaching closely thereto usually blow from the northeast. The average annual precipitation is 17.71 inches. The least recorded annual rainfall in the past 69 years is 4.57 inches. The rainfall of the State of California in recent years has been subnormal and the resulting discharge from the small streams along the coast has been comparatively small.

13. The tides have a diurnal inequality. The long run-out follows the higher high water. The range of tide between mean higher high water and mean lower low water is 5.4 feet. The maximum storm range is 10.5 feet.

14. Santa Barbara Harbor, which extends along the whole of the city front, comprises the sheltered area within the lee of a rubble stone breakwater projecting seaward from Point Castillo, on the west side of the city. Before the construction of the breakwater there was an open roadstead from Santa Barbara Point, eastward to Booth Point, a distance of about 4 miles. In 1927-28 local interests built the breakwater at Point Castillo which now provides protection at the eastern end of the roadstead and limits its length to about 3 miles. It affords protection to about 84 acres of harbor from the prevailing southwesterly waves and to about 32 acres from the more severe winter storms from the southeast.