The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve
(La Jolla Cove)

Created in the 1970s, this tiny jewel off the coast of La Jolla, California is home to four underwater landscapes: Visit a Redwood forest (the kelp bed), go bouldering (the shallow rocky reefs), swim through a desert (sandy flats), or descend into the Grand Canyon (the submarine canyon). All of these diving adventures await you in a scant square mile and a half area.

La Jolla Cove, the gateway to the underwater park, has been called a "public aquarium" for swimmers, snorkelers, and scuba divers. Its usual calm, shallow waters harbor a plethora of life that include flamboyant orange garibaldi fish, brilliant yellow sponges, red and blue lobsters, and schools of silvery sardines--all tossed together in a salad of red, green, and brown marine plants.

Interested? Local biologist and underwater photographer, Judith Lea Garfield, a long-time diver, wrote the first-ever book on the park entitled The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve: La Jolla Cove, Vol. 1. This full-color (6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches), award-winning book lets visitors and locals learn about the fascinating history, geography, and marine life that make up La Jolla Cove and its environs.

Here's how to get your own copy: Make a check out to Picaro Publishing (Out of state: $19.95) (California: $21.50 due to sales tax) plus $4.00 for shipping, and mail to: Picaro Publishing P.O. Box 293 La Jolla, CA 92038-0293 For a personally autographed copy, include the name(s) you want inscribed. Order through the internet bookstore:Amazon.com Visit various San Diego retailers. Just a few are; Birch Aquarium at Scripps; Diving Locker; Sport Chalet Dive Stores, Warwicks Books, D.G. Wills, La Jolla Kayak. Comments, questions, or suggestions for this book or others upcoming, email me:judith@garfield.org

[Updated 1/08]

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