The Farallon Islands: Nice Home For Birds, Less So for Humans

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Twenty-seven miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Farallon Islands jut out of the Pacific. On the clearest of days, the grouping of 20 islets is visible from shore. We dive into the history of these islands — from their earliest human visitors, to the people who have called them home over the decades. Then, we take a trip to the islands with reporter Izzy Bloom to learn about the animals that are thriving in this wildlife refuge. This episode answers a question from Bay Curious listener Ali Moghaddam. Learn more: In Search of Whales (and Other Creatures) at the Mysterious Farallon Islands Bay Curious: The Gold Rush Delicacy That Started a War—Eggs Video: The Farallon Islands - "California's Galapagos" Reported by Olivia Allen-Price and Izzy Bloom. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Darren Tu and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Kyana Moghadam, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Jenny Pritchett, Vinnee Tong, Ethan Lindsey and Holly Kernan.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From K-QED.
0:03.0	Hey everyone, I'm Olivia Alan Price.
0:06.0	This is Bay Curious, a weekly podcast that answers listener questions about the Bay Area.
0:11.0	Let's dive in and meet the guy who submitted this week's question.
0:14.8	My name is Ali Moradam and I am from Oakland.
0:18.8	Last year Ali and his wife were expecting a child and like a lot of couples do they were
0:24.2	trying to fit in some last-minute trips to their favorite spots before the baby
0:28.3	came. There is this area down by Pacifica over there and it's really pretty it's kind of like a
0:36.2	a cove almost we call it dragon stone like in from game of throne because it has that kind of look to it.
0:44.0	It's a special place to them, something of a secret spot.
0:48.0	After spending some time at their Dragonstone,
0:50.0	they got to wandering around the Pacifica shoreline and they stumbled upon something.
0:55.0	They had these placards where they tell you the history of the stuff around
1:00.0	and it was talking about their Farallon Islands.
1:04.0	27 miles west of where Ali and his wife stood that day,
1:09.0	shrouded in dense fog,
1:11.0	the Farallon Islands gnaw their way out of the sea.
1:15.6	The small jagged islands are the picture of in hospitality, windswept, rocky, remote, and
1:22.1	surrounded by rough seas.
1:24.8	19th century sailors call these islands the devil's teeth,
1:28.3	because navigating near them is so treacherous.
1:31.6	And I was reading it and I was very surprised that I had never ever heard of these islands.
	...

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