Bolsa Chica State Beach | |
---|---|
Location | Orange County, California, United States |
Nearest city | Huntington Beach, California |
Coordinates | 33°41′44″N118°2′56″W / 33.69556°N 118.04889°W |
Area | 169 acres (68 ha) |
Established | 1960 |
Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Bolsa Chica State Beach is a public ocean beach in Orange County, California, United States. It is surrounded entirely by the city of Huntington Beach to the north and east, and to the northwest by the Huntington Beach community of Sunset Beach and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The beach extends 3 miles (5 km) from Warner Avenue in Sunset Beach south to Seapoint Avenue, where the Huntington City Beach begins. The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is located across the busy Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from the beach and is a popular spot for birdwatching. The Bolsa Chica Bicycle Path runs along the length of the park through Huntington City Beach.
Activities include surfing, sunbathing, water sports and fishing. Tent camping is not allowed at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Fire rings are available. [1]
Surf fishing for perch, corbina, California corbina, croaker, cabezon, shovelnose guitar fish and sand shark is available. California grunion is a species that only spawns on sandy southern California beaches. Under state law, these fish may be caught by hand with a fishing permit. Wildlife and bird watching are also popular at this state beach. [2]
Lifeguards from the California State Parks Lifeguard Service patrol the beach year-round and lifeguard towers are staffed during the summer.
The area that is now Bolsa Chica State Beach was once called "Tin Can Beach" by locals. [3] The 169-acre (68 ha) property was added to the state park system in 1960. [4]
In 1967, a nuclear power and desalination plant was planned on Bolsa Island, a man-made island off the beach. [5] It was supposed to produce more electricity than the Hoover Dam. [5] However, the plans were abandoned by its chairman Jack K. Horton in 1968, as Southern California Edison was unable to raise sufficient capital, despite rate hikes and the sale of common stocks. [6]
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, United States. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth most populous city in Orange County, the most populous beach city in Orange County, and the seventh most populous city in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, it is bordered by Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by Seal Beach on the northwest, by Westminster on the north, by Fountain Valley on the northeast, by Costa Mesa on the east, and by Newport Beach on the southeast.
Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime industries. Today it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws visitors with a waterfront path and easy access from the ferry to the shops and restaurants.
The Sunset District is a neighborhood located in the southwest quadrant of San Francisco, California, United States.
Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on 5,193 acres (2,102 ha) on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United States in 1682 with the declaration that Cape Henlopen would be for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County." Cape Henlopen State Park has a 24-hour and year-round fishing pier as well as campgrounds. The remainder of the park is only open from sunrise to sunset, and includes a bathhouse on the Atlantic Ocean, an area for surf-fishing, a disc golf course, and bicycle and walking paths. The beach at Herring Point is a popular surfing spot. The park is a stop on Delaware's Coastal Heritage Greenway.
Sunset Beach is a Huntington Beach beachfront community in Orange County, California. It was established on September 8, 1904 and developed as a result of the 1920 discovery of oil in the Huntington Beach Oil Field. The census-designated place of Sunset Beach, and its population of 971 as of the 2010 census, was annexed by Huntington Beach in 2011. The elevation is 5.3 feet (1.6 m) above sea level and the community is stretched out along Pacific Coast Highway bracketed by the ocean and Huntington Harbour.
Surfside is a small gated community with three rows of houses, lettered A, B, and C. Surfside is part of the city of Seal Beach, California and is located on the west side of Pacific Coast Highway, southwest of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach between the station and the Huntington Beach community of Sunset Beach. It is also near the Huntington Beach community of Huntington Harbour. The southern entrance to the Surfside Colony is easy to spot by the water tower that can be seen from Pacific Coast Highway.
Doheny State Beach is known as the first state beach in the California state park system. Located on the Pacific Ocean in the city of Dana Point, the beach is adjacent to several surf spots and scenic beaches including Salt Creek Beach, Baby Beach, and Capistrano Beach. Along with its neighbors, Doheny beach is a popular surf spot located at the mouth of San Juan Creek, which flows from the Santa Ana Mountains southwest to the beach, where it forms a fresh-water lagoon.
Huntington State Beach is a protected beach in Southern California, located in the City of Huntington Beach in Orange County. It extends 2 miles (3.2 km) from Newport Beach north to Beach Boulevard, where the Huntington City Beach begins. The 121-acre (49 ha) park was established in 1942.
The Huntington Beach Pier is a municipal pier located in Huntington Beach, California, at the west end of Main Street and west of Pacific Coast Highway. At 1,850 ft (560 m) in length, it is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast of the United States. The deck of the pier is 30 ft (9.1 m) above sea level, while the top of the restaurant structure at the end of the pier is 77 ft (23 m).
Silver Strand, or simply The Strand, is a low, narrow, sandy isthmus or a human-constructed tombolo 7 miles (11 km) long in San Diego County, California, partially within Silver Strand State Beach. It connects Coronado with Imperial Beach. Together with the Point Loma peninsula it shelters and defines San Diego Bay.
Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve is a natural reserve and public land in Orange County, governed by the state of California, and immediately adjacent to the city of Huntington Beach, California. The reserve is designated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to protect a coastal wetland and upland, with both migratory and resident threatened and endangered species of wildlife and wildflowers.
Zuma Beach is a county beach at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in Los Angeles County, California, it is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf. It consistently ranks among the healthiest beaches for clean water conditions in Los Angeles County.
Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica.
Point Sal State Beach is a beach on the Pacific coast of California, located near the city of Guadalupe, in the northwestern part of Santa Barbara County. There are approximately 80 acres (320,000 m2) of property with 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of ocean frontage. The rocks around the headland constitute part of the Coast Range Ophiolite, one of the largest ophiolite terranes in the world. This beach is at risk of landslides as there are rocky shorelines and extremely steep slopes.
Sunset Cliffs is an affluent coastal community in the Point Loma community of San Diego, California. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Ocean Beach to the north, Catalina Blvd. and Santa Barbara St. to the east, and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park to the south.
Huntington Harbour is a community of about 3,500 people located in the northwestern section of Huntington Beach in Orange County, California. Huntington Harbour is a residential development of 680 acres (280 ha) which includes five man-made islands with waterways varying from 15 to 20 feet in depth used for boating. The five human-made islands in Huntington Harbour include: Admiralty, Davenport, Gilbert, Humboldt, and Trinidad.
Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) and Bolsa Bay State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) are two adjoining marine protected areas located in Orange County on the southern coast of California, United States. The SMCAs cover 0.66 and 0.07 square miles, respectively. The SMCAs protect marine life by limiting the removal of marine wildlife from within their borders.
County Line Beach is a beach located in Solromar, California, an unincorporated community of Ventura County. This stretch of sandy beach is easily accessible from the adjacent Pacific Coast Highway. This surf spot popularized by the Beach Boys in their 1963 hit song "Surfin' U.S.A." is administered by the California State Parks' Malibu Sector Coastal Lifeguard Program in addition to Leo Carrillo State Park. The beach lies within the south coast portion of Ventura County amidst a mostly rugged coastline that is some of the most striking and diverse coastal terrain in the County and a backdrop for many televised car scenes. The beach lies at the mouth of a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains that hugs the shore along the Ventura County's south coast.
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.
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