Turtle Pond 360 View

Turtle Pond, originally dug and dammed by ranchers, is spring fed and is the only source of water during the dry season along this section of Copeland Creek. The pond surface (red color in photo) is covered much of the year with a small, floating vative fern (Azolla filiculoides) that can double its biomass every two to three days due to a symbiotic relationship with a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium. The pond ishabitat for western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), a California species of special concern. (Photo: Kristi Yost, 6/7/2012, 12:27:33 PM)