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99-505: Nicasio ( / n ɪ ˈ k ɑː s i . oʊ / nih- KAH -see-oh ; Spanish for " Nicasius ") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County , California , United States. It is located 8 miles (13 km) west-southwest of Novato , at an elevation of 194 feet (59 m). As of the 2020 census the CDP population was 81, while population estimates for
198-514: A "potential wilderness area" by Congress. The farm's supporters argued that it was not ecologically harmful and was important to the local economy. On November 29, 2012, Salazar announced that he would not renew the permit, citing the original intent of the Point Reyes Wilderness Act to designate the area as wilderness upon the removal of the oyster farm. Salazar visited the farm the previous week and later personally phoned
297-605: A 2004 Forbes magazine real estate survey, Nicasio is the 23rd most expensive ZIP code in the US. Nicasio has the highest per capita income ($ 211,993) of any census-designated place in California. Centrally located in this area is the small village of Nicasio itself. The village is in area codes 415/628 . The town center has a post office (ZIP code 94946), a general store, a tiny real estate office, St. Mary's Catholic Church (established in 1867), Nicasio Volunteer Fire Department ,
396-626: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes National Seashore
495-540: A baseball field located in the town square, the Rancho Nicasio Bar & Restaurant, a Druid 's Hall, as well as a number of private homes. The town was founded in the early 19th century to support local agricultural, timber, and fishing activities. The town once contained the twenty-two-room Hotel Nicasio, which opened in 1867 but burned down in December 1940. Just north of town on Nicasio Valley Road next to
594-414: A closed-cone conifer, is also present. Salt, brackish, and freshwater marshlands are found adjacent to Drakes Estero and Abbotts Lagoon . The other communities identified by Evens are the coastal strand, dominated by European beach grass ( Ammophila arenaria ), ice plant ( Carprobrotus edulis , also called sea fig or Hottentot fig ), sea rocket ( Cakile maritima ) and other species that thrive on
693-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
792-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
891-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
990-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1089-639: A narrow sandy beach, from which Drakes Beach can be glimpsed across Drakes Bay . North Beach and South Beach are often windswept and wave-pounded. Ocean vistas from higher ground can be seen from the Tomales Point Trail and, to the south, from the Palomarin trailhead at the park's southern entrance outside the town of Bolinas . All of the park's beaches were listed as the cleanest in the state in 2010. For backpackers , Point Reyes has four hike-in campgrounds available by reservation. Point Reyes
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#17327799504711188-543: A petition to the United States Supreme Court was denied on June 30, 2014. The oyster farm closed its on site retail operation on July 31, 2014. However, controversy continued over the condition of the estero sea floor and the ongoing off shore operations. Another lawsuit challenging the closure itself was rejected in September 2014. The work to remove the offshore racks and onshore buildings
1287-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1386-576: A rich diversity of wildlife. There are at least 42 rare and endangered plants of the more than 850 plant species identified. Almost 40 species of land mammals plus a dozen marine mammals such as the harbor seal live or migrate through this area. Bird species counts are well over 400. It is part of the Golden Gate Biosphere Network , recognized in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves . The northernmost part of
1485-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1584-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1683-488: A wide rolling valley. The area along Lucas Valley Road follows a narrow valley with mostly forested hillsides above it. Oak, bay, and fir trees are common in the area, and along some of the creeks stands of redwoods are still found. Wildlife is abundant; the Nicasio chickadee, a subspecies of the chestnut-backed chickadee , was named by Robert Ridgway. Three main roads cross the area: Lucas Valley Road, Nicasio Valley Road, and
1782-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
1881-662: Is a 71,028-acre (287.44 km ) park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California . As a national seashore , it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve. Some existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue within the park. Clem Miller , a US Congressman from Marin County , wrote and introduced the bill for the establishment of Point Reyes National Seashore in 1962 to protect
1980-645: Is a terminus of the American Discovery Trail which is the only transcontinental trail in the United States. Point Reyes State Marine Reserve & Point Reyes State Marine Conservation Area , Estero de Limantour State Marine Reserve & Drakes Estero State Marine Conservation Area and Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area adjoin Point Reyes National Seashore. These marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. A large oyster farm
2079-449: Is allowed on Tomales Bay . Point Reyes has a system of about 150 miles of hiking trails for day hiking and backpacking. Bear Valley Trail is the most popular hike in the park. It travels mostly streamside through a shaded, fern-laden canyon, breaking out at Divide Meadow before heading downward to the coast, where it emerges at Arch Rock. A portion of Arch Rock collapsed on March 21, 2015, killing one person. Three trails connecting from
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#17327799504712178-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2277-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2376-657: Is needed. In his book The Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula , Jules Evens identifies several plant communities. One of the most prominent is the Coastal Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ) forest, which includes Coast live oak , Tanoak , and California bay and reaches across the southern half of Inverness Ridge toward Bolinas Lagoon . Unlogged parts of this Douglas-fir forest contain trees over 300 years old and up to 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter. But despite these large, old trees,
2475-589: Is part of the Salinian Block while across the fault is the Franciscan Complex ; the difference in soil composition affects the mix of flora on either side of the fault. The small town of Point Reyes Station , while not located on the peninsula, provides most services to it. Some services are also available at Inverness on the west shore of Tomales Bay. The small town of Olema , about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Point Reyes Station, serves as
2574-732: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
2673-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
2772-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
2871-555: The Endangered Species Act . The Point Reyes Lighthouse attracts whale-watchers looking for the gray whale migrating south in mid-January and north in mid-March. Elephant seals were first observed in 1981 as they recolonized Chimney Beach, which is protected by 100-foot (30 m) cliffs. In January 2019, during the federal government shutdown , park rangers were not working and the seals had pups on Drakes Beach and its parking lot. Small-group tours to view
2970-555: The National Register of Historic Places . The Point Reyes National Seashore attracts 2.5 million visitors annually. Hostelling International USA (part of Hostelling International ) maintains a 45-bed youth hostel at the Seashore. The Point Reyes National Seashore Association, formed in 1964, collaborates with the Seashore on maintenance, restoration and educational projects. More than 30,000 acres (120 km ) of
3069-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
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3168-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
3267-805: The United States House of Representatives , Nicasio is in California's 2nd congressional district , represented by Democrat Jared Huffman . Nicasio is served by the Nicasio Elementary School District and the Tamalpais Union High School District . Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from
3366-696: The Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ;
3465-608: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to
3564-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
3663-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
3762-465: The Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on
3861-545: The California Coastal Act. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected an appeal of the district court's decision, ruling on Sept. 3, 2013 that the oyster farm's owner had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits because Salazar had acted within his discretion in denying the permit. An attempt to have the appeals court rehear the case was rejected on January 14, 2014 and
3960-470: The Drakes Bay Historic and Archaeological District National Historic Landmark . This encompasses 5,965 acres (24.14 km ) along the coast of Drakes Bay. Kule Loklo , a re-created Coast Miwok village, is a short walk from the visitor center. Lairds Landing was the site of a wharf on the southwest shore of Tomales Bay. It was named after ranchers, Charles and George Laird, who leased
4059-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
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4158-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
4257-723: The Limantour Spit. An endemic (restricted to one area) and rare coastal pine known as the Bishop pine grows here. The north segment includes the Tomales Point area, which is an open grassland peninsula that separates the Pacific Ocean to the west from the Tomales Bay, a submerged valley, on the east. A reserve for the reintroduced tule elk is in this section. Although there are no trailcamps, boat-in camping
4356-497: The Limantour wilderness area of the Seashore and above Drakes Beach to Ranch A, as that ranch's long-term lease expired and was not renewed. The drought in 2012–2015 was also a threat to the elk confined north of the fence on Tomales Point, with nearly half the elk there dying from lack of water. In 2012 there were 540 elk, then only 357 in 2013, and by 2014 only 286. In August and September 2020, drought and wildfires again threaten
4455-734: The Marin County Environmental Health Services and the National Park Service found the ranches were discharging raw sewage either through leaks or missing septic systems. The Point Reyes Lifeboat Station is a National Historic Landmark . It is the last remaining example of a rail-launched lifeboat station that was common on the Pacific coast. Nova Albion , Francis Drake's 1579 campsite; Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho 's 1595 wreck; and fifteen associated Native American sites are included in
4554-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
4653-829: The Point Reyes National Seashore are designated as the Phillip Burton Wilderness, named in honor of California Congressman Phillip Burton , who wrote the legislation creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and was instrumental in helping to pass the California Wilderness Act of 1984 . The US Congress passed legislation ( Public Law 94-544) in 1976 that created the Point Reyes Wilderness, and in 1985, Congress, in recognition of Burton's dedication to wilderness preservation, renamed
4752-485: The Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. Important pieces of public land in the surrounding area include Point Reyes National Seashore , portions of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , and Samuel P. Taylor State Park . The 2010 United States Census reported that Nicasio village had a population of 96. The population density was 73.6 inhabitants per square mile (28.4/km). The racial makeup of the CDP
4851-543: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
4950-414: The Tomales Point elk, leading some conservationists to illegally bring water to the elk north of the fence. The Park Service began a public review and comment period in 2023 on a proposal remove of the tule elk fence with a final decision expected in the summer of 2024. The preserve is also very rich in raptors and shorebirds . The western snowy plover that nests here is considered "threatened" under
5049-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
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#17327799504715148-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
5247-566: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
5346-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
5445-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
5544-604: The entire peninsula and Tomales Bay. The Seashore also administers the parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation area, such as the Olema Valley, that are adjacent to the Seashore. Point Reyes National Seashore lies at the convergence of two marine ecological provinces (southern Oregonian and northern Californian) and harbors 45% of North America's bird species and 18% of California's plant species. The National Seashore's 100 miles (160 km) of coastline include estuaries, bays and lagoons which provide rich habitats including subtidal seagrasses, tidal mudflats and marshes that support
5643-424: The farm's owner to give him the news. The oyster farm closure was challenged in U.S. District Court on January 25, 2013. The challenge was rejected by a federal court judge, who ruled that the law gave Salazar unfettered discretion to approve or deny a renewal of the permit. The California Coastal Commission voted on February 7, 2013 to unanimously approve cease and desist and restoration orders for violations of
5742-450: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
5841-426: The forest may nevertheless be a result of European settlement. The Coast Miwok people who once lived in the area set frequent fires to clear brush and increase game animal populations, and early explorers' accounts describe the hills as bare and grassy. But as the Native American settlements were replaced by European ones from the seventeenth century onward, the forests expanded as fire frequency decreased, resulting in
5940-472: The forests we see today. The Bishop pine ( Pinus muricata ) forest is found on slopes in the northern half of the park. Many of these trees growing in thick swaths came from seeds released after the 1995 Mt. Vision fire. The bishop pines of the Phillip Burton Wilderness are considered an intermediate between the northern variety ( Pinus muricata v. borealis ) and the southern ( Pinus muricata v. muricata ). The Monterey cypress ( Callitropsis macrocarpa ),
6039-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
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#17327799504716138-401: The four main drainages of Nicasio Creek up to the ridgelines defining their basin. It includes the south fork of Nicasio Creek extending from Moon Hill, along the ridge separating Nicasio from San Geronimo and Samuel P. Taylor State Park , and extending northwest towards the northern end of Platform Bridge Road; the east fork ( Lucas Valley fork) of Nicasio Creek extending from Loma Alta and
6237-460: The gateway to the Seashore and its visitor center. The peninsula includes wild coastal beaches and headlands, estuaries, and uplands. Parts of the park are private farms and ranches which have commercial cattle grazing. These were leased back when the park was purchased to continue these historic uses. Other parts are under the jurisdiction of other conservation authorities with the National Park Service providing signage and managing visitor impact on
6336-454: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
6435-429: The high point of Mount Wittenberg . The four trailcamps are in this section, with Wildcat and Coast camps located near shore, and Sky and Glen camps inland. Each camp has a different number of individual sites, with 52 sites total and four group sites. The central section, which is separated from the southeastern unit by Limantour Road, protects the crest of the Inverness Ridge, the east shore of Estero de Limantour and
6534-401: The immediate coast; northern coastal prairie , found on a narrow strip just inland from the coastal strand that includes some native grasses; coastal rangeland, the area still grazed by the cattle from the peninsula's remaining working ranches; northern coastal scrub , dominated by coyote bush ( Baccharis pilularis ); and the intertidal and subtidal plant communities. Point Reyes is home to
6633-450: The internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
6732-423: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
6831-628: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
6930-423: The modern-day school building for Nicasio School District is a one-room schoolhouse that opened in 1871. The building is currently a listed historical landmark. The Nicasio post office opened in 1871, closed in 1899, and reopened in 1900. In 2008, Dewey Livingston wrote a detailed history of the region titled Nicasio: The Historic Valley at the Center of Marin . The Nicasio region is a hydrologic zone containing
7029-498: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
7128-601: The only known population of the endangered Sonoma spineflower, Chorizanthe valida . The park has 28,000 acres (11,000 ha) of dairy and beef cattle ranching. Extremely high levels of fecal coliform bacteria ( Escherichia coli ) concentrations have been documented in streams adjacent to existing dairy operations. Cattle manure spreading areas are correlated with the increased presence of invasive and noxious weed species. Tomales Bay, Drakes Estero and Abbotts Lagoon are all affected by E. coli discharges from cattle operations in rainy winter months. A joint inspection in 2022 by
7227-654: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
7326-509: The peninsula from development which was proposed at the time for the slopes above Drake's Bay. About half of the national seashore is protected as wilderness. The Point Reyes peninsula is a well defined area, geologically separated from the rest of Marin County and almost all of the continental United States by a rift zone of the San Andreas Fault , about half of which is sunk below sea level and forms Tomales Bay . The peninsula
7425-648: The peninsula is maintained as a reserve for tule elk ( Cervus canadensis nannodes ), an elk subspecies historically native to the region. Elk are readily seen there. Although they had been completely extirpated from Point Reyes by the nineteenth century, in 1978, ten tule elk were reintroduced to Point Reyes from the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos . By 2009, the population climbed to over 440 elk at Tomales Point 's 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) of coastal scrub and grasslands . In 1999, 100 elk from Tomales Point were moved to
7524-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
7623-506: The ridge on the north side of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard , extending up through Big Rock and up towards Big Rock Ridge ; the Halleck Creek drainage, up to the ridges separating Nicasio from Novato ; the northern drainages extending along the ridgelines of Rocky Ridge, Hicks Mountain and Black Mountain. A major landmark in the area is the man-made Nicasio Reservoir . Nicasio is surrounded by forested and open ridge lines surrounding
7722-406: The seals from the edge of the parking lot began the following month after the shutdown ended. Docents help keep the public safe during the winter months as the colony continues to grow each year. Point Reyes lies within the California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion . The Point Reyes area has more than 50 species of rare, threatened or endangered plants. Perennial wildflowers include
7821-478: The site in 1858 to transport supplies and produce across the bay. The location was settled by the Felix family around 1861, a family of Filipino and Miwok heritage. After the descendants of the Felix family left in 1955, the land was zoned for development, then made part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, before becoming home to artist Clayton Lewis . In 2015, structures built by the Felix family were placed on
7920-433: The surrounding area range from about 600 to about 900 people. Within Nicasio and the surrounding area are about 250 homes located on approximately 350 parcels. Much of the land is still used for agricultural purposes including beef and dairy cattle grazing, small-scale truck farming (including organic farming), and the raising of forage. Several small vineyards have also been recently established. Next to Rancho Nicasio within
8019-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
8118-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
8217-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
8316-492: The town of Nicasio is an organic farm, AllStar Organics, owned and operated by Janet Brown and Marty Jacobson; Janet is the vice-president of Marin Organic, Marin County's non-profit organic association. Just north of Nicasio Reservoir is Fairlea Ranch, where pedigree longhorn cattle are raised. The most significant non-agricultural business within Nicasio is George Lucas ' Skywalker Ranch , a part of Lucasfilm Ltd. According to
8415-473: The west with the Bear Valley trail head upward toward Mount Wittenberg, at 1,407 feet (429 m), the highest point in the park. The Earthquake Trail, a 0.6-mile (0.97 km) loop that runs over the San Andreas Fault . The trail provides descriptions of the fault and the surrounding geology, and features a fence that was pulled 18 feet (5.5 m) apart during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . At
8514-541: The western end of the Point Reyes Peninsula is the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse, reached by descending 308 steps. Unlike many lighthouses, that were built high so the light could be seen by ships far out to sea, the Point Reyes lighthouse was built low to get the light below the fog that is so prevalent in the area. Nearby is the short Chimney Rock hike, which is noted for its spring wildflower displays. Point Reyes offers several beach walks. Limantour Spit winds up on
8613-585: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
8712-682: The wilderness after him (P.L. 99-68). It is one of only three designated wilderness areas along the California coast, the others being the King Range Wilderness and the Rocks and Islands Wilderness . There are three separate sections: The southeastern area protects the Inverness Ridge down to a long coastline and is the largest unit. Within this area are forests of Douglas fir and California buckeye , coastal foothills, terraces, caves, beaches, several small inland lakes and
8811-506: The world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after
8910-570: The yellow larkspur ( Delphinium luteum ), federally listed as endangered, and state listed as rare since 1979. It has yellow flowers that bloom from March through May, grows in plant communities of coastal scrub, and is extremely poisonous (major toxicity class 1 ). Rare grasses include the endemic Sonoma shortawn foxtail ( Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis ) in the family Poaceae , federally listed as endangered since 1997. The California Native Plant Society lists this subspecies population as seriously endangered, and that more taxonomic information
9009-516: Was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%. 81.3% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 18.8% lived in rental housing units. The 1993 song "Daughter" by Pearl Jam was recorded in Nicasio. In the California State Legislature , Nicasio is in the 2nd Senate District , represented by Democrat Mike McGuire , and in the 10th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Stephanie Nguyen . In
9108-726: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74. There were 28 families (80.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.07. The population was spread out, with 28 people (29.2%) under the age of 18, 5 people (5.2%) aged 18 to 24, 21 people (21.9%) aged 25 to 44, 29 people (30.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 13 people (13.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. There were 41 housing units at an average density of 31.4 units per square mile (12.1 units/km), of which 80.0% were owner-occupied, and 20.0% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate
9207-604: Was 97.9% White and 2.1% African American . 7.3% of the population was Hispanic American or Latino of any race. There were 35 households, out of which 15 (42.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 19 (54.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6 (17.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (8.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (5.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 6 households (17.1%) were made up of individuals, and 4 (11.4%) had someone living alone who
9306-689: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
9405-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
9504-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
9603-509: Was informed by the NPS at the time of purchase that their permit to operate would not be renewed beyond the November 30, 2012 expiration date. A federal law enacted in 2009 authorized, but did not require, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to renew the permit. The NPS and conservation groups viewed the farm as an inappropriate and environmentally-insensitive use of the estero, which was designated
9702-547: Was located in Drakes Estero until, under court order, it closed down at end of 2014. Court appeals to keep the operation in place were dropped in December, 2014. The farm was purchased by the National Park Service in 1972, and the agency issued a permit to allow the previous owner to continue operations for 40 years. The business was sold to a new owner in 2004, the Drakes Bay Oyster Company , who
9801-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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