Alamitos Bay | |
---|---|
![]() Alamitos Bay, 2015 | |
Location | Long Beach, California |
Coordinates | 33°44′59″N118°07′05″W / 33.74972°N 118.11806°W |
Part of | Pacific Ocean |
Primary inflows | Los Cerritos Channel |
Ocean/sea sources | Pacific Ocean |
Alamitos Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States, between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach, at the outlet of the San Gabriel River. It is near Los Angeles.
The bay is named for the Spanish word for 'little poplars'. [1]
Alamitos Bay is protected by both the natural sand spit Peninsula and the Long Beach Breakwater. It is divided from the San Gabriel River and Seal Beach by a pair of jetties. The natural geography has been heavily altered by dredging and landfill subsequent to development.
The bay was severely impacted by the 1939 California tropical storm. [2]
Alamitos Bay contains Marine Stadium, created for Olympic rowing events.
After efforts to clear contaminated sediment and improve circulation, Heal the Bay has re-assessed the water's quality. [3] In a 2020 report, the "Summer Dry Grade" at the 2nd Street Bridge was "B," and at Mother's Beach "A." [4] "Winter Dry Grades" were "C" and "B," respectively. "Wet Weather Grades" were both "F."
The water quality of the bay could be diminished in the future if the pumps of the nearby Alamitos Energy Center are decommissioned. The city is assessing a replacement for these pumps to maintain the bay's water circulation. [3] [5]
Naples, a collection of three islands, is entirely within Alamitos Bay.
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the 43rd-most populous city in the U.S., with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California and the most populous city that is not a county seat.
Los Alamitos is a city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,780 at the 2020 census, up from 11,449 at the 2010 census. The adjacent unincorporated community of Rossmoor uses the same 90720 ZIP code in its mailing address, but is not part of the city. The Los Alamitos Race Course is named for the city, but lies in the neighboring city of Cypress.
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
The Los Angeles River, historically known as Paayme Paxaayt by the Tongva and the Río Porciúncula by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly 51 miles (82 km) from Canoga Park through the San Fernando Valley, Downtown Los Angeles, and the Gateway Cities to its mouth in Long Beach, where it flows into San Pedro Bay. While the river was once free-flowing and frequently flooding, forming alluvial flood plains along its banks, it is currently notable for flowing through a concrete channel on a fixed course, which was built after a series of devastating floods in the early 20th century.
The Santa Clara River is an 83 mi (134 km) long river in Ventura and Los Angeles counties in Southern California. It drains parts of four ranges in the Transverse Ranges System north and northwest of Los Angeles, then flows west onto the Oxnard Plain and into the Santa Barbara Channel of the Pacific Ocean.
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after California Governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr., the over 400-mile (640 km) aqueduct is the principal feature of the California State Water Project.
The San Gabriel River is a mostly urban waterway flowing 58 miles (93 km) southward through Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California in the United States. It is the central of three major rivers draining the Greater Los Angeles Area, the others being the Los Angeles River and Santa Ana River. The river's watershed stretches from the rugged San Gabriel Mountains to the heavily developed San Gabriel Valley and a significant part of the Los Angeles coastal plain, emptying into the Pacific Ocean between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a regional wholesaler and the largest supplier of treated water in the United States. The name is usually shortened to "Met," "Metropolitan," or "MWD." It is a cooperative of fourteen cities, eleven municipal water districts, and one county water authority, that provides water to 19 million people in a 5,200-square-mile (13,000 km2) service area. It was created by an act of the California State Legislature in 1928, primarily to build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct. Metropolitan became the first contractor to the State Water Project in 1960.
Naples is a neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States, built on three islands located in Alamitos Bay. The islands are divided by canals which open into the bay. Most of the streets on the island have Italianate names. The center of Naples features a large fountain which serves as a popular meeting spot. The city was named after the Italian city Naples.
The San Gabriel River Trail is a 28-mile (45 km) bike path along the San Gabriel River through El Dorado Regional Park and onto street bike trails near the Alamitos Bay Marina in Los Angeles County, California. The South end is Seal Beach. The northern segment begins near Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.
Puvunga is an ancient village and sacred site of the Tongva nation, the Indigenous people of the Los Angeles Basin, and the Acjachemen, the Indigenous people of Orange County. The site is now located within California State University, Long Beach and the surrounding area. The Tongva know Puvunga as the "place of emergence" and it is where they believed "their world and their lives began." Puvunga is an important ceremonial site and is the end to an annual pilgrimage for the Tongva, Acjachemen, and Chumash.
The Balboa Line was the southernmost route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and the Balboa Peninsula in Orange County by way of North Long Beach, though the route was later cut back to the Newport Dock. It was designated as route 17.
Los Cerritos Wetlands is located in both Los Angeles County and Orange County in the cities of Long Beach, California, and Seal Beach, California. The San Gabriel River, historically and currently flows through the Los Cerritos Wetlands Complex.
Alamitos Creek or Los Alamitos Creek is a 7.7-mile-long (12.4 km) creek in San Jose, California, which becomes the Guadalupe River when it exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek. Los Alamitos Creek is located in Almaden Valley and originates from the Los Capitancillos Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near New Almaden. This creek flows through the Valley's Guadalupe Watershed, which is owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The creek flows in a generally northwesterly direction after rounding the Los Capitancillos Ridge and the town of New Almaden, in the southwest corner, before ambling along the Santa Teresa Hills on northeast side of the Almaden Valley. Its environment has some relatively undisturbed areas and considerable lengths of suburban residential character. Originally called Arroyo de los Alamitos, the creek's name is derived from "little poplar", "alamo" being the Spanish word for "poplar" or "cottonwood".
The Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath also known as the Long Beach Bike Path is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) path along the Pacific Ocean from Shoreline Village in downtown Long Beach, California to Belmont Shore, Los Angeles County. It was completed in 1988 and is used by walkers, joggers, and skaters. In 2013 the California Coastal Commission approved a second path for pedestrians to run parallel to the path used primarily by bicyclists.
Anaheim Bay is an extensive harbor and wetland complex in Orange County, California in the United States. The bay is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Orange County next to Seal Beach and is split into several distinct but interconnected parts. The term "Anaheim Bay" generally refers to the deep-water Navy harbor at the bay entrance. Further southeast are the Huntington Harbor, which serves small private vessels, and the Bolsa Bay, a salt-water estuary. Bordering the bay are hundreds of acres of salt marshes, some of the largest remaining such habitats in Southern California.
The Alamitos Energy Center (AEC), formerly AES Alamitos, is a natural gas-fired power station located in Long Beach, California. It is the second largest power station in California.
Peninsula is a neighborhood in Long Beach, California. It separates Alamitos Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Belmont Shore and across the water from Naples.
The Pacific Electric Railway established streetcar services in Long Beach in 1902. Unlike other cities where Pacific Electric operated local streetcars, Long Beach's system did not predate the company's services. Long Beach's network of streetcars peaked around 1911 with over 30 miles (48 km) of tracks throughout the city. Local services were discontinued in 1940, but interurban service to Los Angeles persisted until 1961. The route of the former main interurban line was rebuilt in the late 1980s as the Metro Blue Line, which operates at-grade with car traffic for a portion of its length.