Mescaltitlan Island

What today is just a small, unremarkable hill was once a thriving native village that was home to the largest human population on the California coast. Mescaltitlan Island sat protected in the middle of the Goleta Slough and it was so impressive, Spanish explorers thought is was the best place to build their presidio. Years later, the United States government would use it as fill dirt for their Marine base in Goleta.