Central Coast (California)
Central Coast | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
State | California |
Population | 2,249,558 (All 6 counties combined) |
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populated stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.[1]
From south to north, there are six counties that make up the Central Coast: Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.[2][3]
The Central Coast is the location of the Central Coast American Viticultural Area.
Geographically, the actual midpoint of the California coast lies north of Santa Cruz, near Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County.[4] Neither the popular use of the term Central Coast nor that of the California North Coast include the San Francisco Peninsula counties of San Mateo and San Francisco.
History
The Central Coast area was originally inhabited by
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed north along the coast and landed in Santa Barbara County in 1542.[6]
After the Spanish established the California missions in 1770, they baptized and forced the native population to labor at the missions. While living at the missions, the aboriginal population was exposed to diseases unknown to them, like smallpox and measles, for which they had no immunity, devastating the Native American population and their culture. Many of the remaining Native Americans assimilated with Spanish and Mexican ranchers in the nineteenth century.[7]: 264–267
Under Spanish law, the indigenous people were technically free individuals, but they could be compelled by force to labor without pay. With the help of the soldiers who guarded the mission, the Indians who lived near the mission were forcibly relocated, conscripted, and trained as plowmen, shepherds, cattle herders, blacksmiths, and carpenters on the mission. Disease, starvation, over work, and torture decimated the tribe.[8]: 114
Overview
The region is known primarily for
The area is not densely populated. The largest city in the region is Oxnard in Ventura County, with a population estimated at 203,007 in 2013.[10]
Education
Population
The six counties that make up the Central Coast region had an estimated population of 2,348,601 according to the 2020 census.[11]
Counties by population
County |
FIPS code[12] | County seat[13] | Established[13] | Formed from | Etymology[14] | Population[11] | Area[13] | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ventura County | 111 | Ventura | 1872 | Santa Barbara | The city of Ventura, itself an abbreviation of San Buenaventura, Spanish for St. Bonaventure .
|
843,843 | 1,846 sq mi (4,781 km2) |
|
Santa Barbara County | 083 | Santa Barbara | 1850 | Original | The city of Santa Barbara, itself Spanish for Saint Barbara. | 448,229 | 2,738 sq mi (7,091 km2) |
|
Monterey County | 053 | Salinas | 1850 | Original | Monterey Bay, itself a Spanish compound meaning "royal mountain", from monte ("mountain" or "hill") and rey ("king"). | 439,035 | 3,322 sq mi (8,604 km2) |
|
San Luis Obispo County | 079 | San Luis Obispo | 1850 | Original | The city of San Luis Obispo, itself Spanish for Saint Louis, the Bishop .
|
282,424 | 3,304 sq mi (8,557 km2) |
|
Santa Cruz County | 087 | Santa Cruz | 1850 | Original | The city of Santa Cruz, itself Spanish for "holy cross" | 270,861 | 446 sq mi (1,155 km2) |
|
San Benito County | 069 | Hollister | 1874 | Monterey | The San Benito River and its valley, itself named in Spanish after Saint Benedict. | 64,209 | 1,389 sq mi (3,597 km2) |
Major cities
The following cities had a population over 20,000 as of the 2020 census:[15]
- Oxnard - 202,063
- Salinas - 163,542
- Thousand Oaks - 126,966
- Simi Valley - 126,356
- Ventura - 110,763
- Santa Maria - 109,707
- Santa Barbara - 88,665
- Camarillo - 70,741
- Santa Cruz - 62,956
- Watsonville - 52,590
- San Luis Obispo - 47,063
- Lompoc - 44,444
- Hollister - 41,678
- Moorpark - 36,284
- Goleta - 32,690
- Seaside - 32,366
- Paso Robles - 31,490
- Santa Paula - 30,657
- Monterey - 30,218
- Atascadero - 29,773
- Soledad - 24,925
- Marina - 22,359
- Port Hueneme - 21,954
Transportation
Travel is almost entirely by private automobile. Because of its position roughly halfway between the major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco,
See also
- Big Sur
- California State Route 1
- Coastal California
- Carmel-by-the-Sea
- Hearst Castle
- List of tourist attractions in Monterey County, California
- Monterey Peninsula
- Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
- Davidson Seamount, one of the largest known seamounts in the world
- Salinas Valley
- Santa Cruz Mountains
- Wine Regions
References
- ^ California Central Coast Tourism. Centralcoast-tourism.com. Retrieved on 2013-10-01.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Brent, Jon (May 13, 2014). "Covered California enrollment beats projections by wide margin on Central Coast". Kionrightnow.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ "Coastal Geographic Center of California".
- ^ Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Morro Creek". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ISBN 0-7627-2810-8
- ^ Henson, Paul; Donald J. Usner (1993). "The Natural History of Big Sur" (PDF). University Of California Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
- ^ "Central Coast Film Society". CENTRAL COAST FILM SOCIETY.
- ^ "Oxnard (city) Quick Facts". United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
- ^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- OCLC 4268886.
- ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 14, 2021.