The geologic and environmental processes that have led to the Channel Islands we know today
will continue to bring changes over time.
Competing forces of plate movements with associated tectonic uplift,
alternating sea levels, and erosion will continue to affect the shape and size of the islands.
They will shrink during interglacial periods like we're in now and grow again
merging back into a large single Island during future ice ages.
This cycle will repeat itself as the climate shifts back and forth.
Superimposed on this will be gradual tectonic uplift which will slowly make
the islands higher in elevation.
The big bend in the San Andreas fault system forms a major sticking point
in the present Pacific North American plate boundary.
The bend is still growing, making the present fault trace ever more difficult to function as the primary plate boundary.
In the last few million years a new fault set has been developing farther east
running from the Salton Sea northward up eastern California.
It's likely that the Sierra Nevada Great Valley Block will
break away and be captured by the Pacific plate.
The new plate boundary will follow this line, abandoning its present near coast activity.
If this happens, the on going clockwise movement and compressional uplift of the
Western Transverse Ranges-Channel Islands block will wane.
As the compression wanes, erosion on the islands will likely outpace uplift,
gradually eroding the islands into the ocean until they disappear.