Santa Catalina Island, location relative to the coast of Southern California
'Santa Catalina Island', often called 'Catalina Island', or just 'Catalina', is a rocky
island off the coast of the
U.S. State of
California. The island is 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is Mt. Orizaba (648
m), at .
Part of the
Channel Islands of California archipelago, Catalina falls under the jurisdiction of
Los Angeles County. Most of the island is owned by the
Catalina Island Conservancy.
The total population as of the
2000 census was 3,696 persons, with almost 85 percent living in its only city of
Avalon (pop. 3,127, with another 195 south of the city outside of the city limits). The second center of population is the
unincorporated town of
Two Harbors, in the north, with a population of 298. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements ''Rancho Escondido'' and ''Middle Ranch''. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two population centers. The island has an overall population density of 49.29/mi² (19.03/km²).
History
Tourists enjoying the waters off Catalina in 1889
Prior to the modern era the island was inhabited by people of the Gabrielino/
Tongva tribe, who also lived in the area of
Los Angeles, had villages near present day
San Pedro and
Playa del Rey, and who regularly traveled back and forth to Catalina for trade. The Tongva called the island ''Pimu'' or ''Pimungna''. The Gabrielino/Tongva are renowned for their mining, working and trade of
soapstone which was found in great quantities and varieties on the Island. This material was in great demand and was traded along the California coast.
The first European to set foot on the island was Portuguese explorer
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, sailing for Spain. This happened on
October 7,
1542. He claimed the island for Spain and christened it ''San Salvador''. Another Spanish explorer,
Sebastian Vizcaino, rediscovered the island on the eve of
Saint Catherine's day (
November 24) in 1602. He renamed it ''Santa Catalina'' to honor the feast day of
St. Catherine of Alexandria.
[1]
During the following 300 years, the island served as home or base of operation for many visitors, from
Russian
otter hunters to
Spanish smugglers to
Chinese pirates.
Franciscan monks tried to build a mission there, but failed due to the lack of fresh water on the island. The native population was mostly wiped out by disease during 19th century. Catalina Island experienced a brief period of
gold rush in 1860s, but no gold was found and only a little silver. In 1864, the federal government, fearing attempts to outfit
privateers by Confederate sympathizers in the
American Civil War, put an end to the mining by ordering everyone off the island. A small garrison of Union troops occupied the Catalina for about nine months. (Their barracks stood until the 1940s, when they were destroyed in a fire.)
By the end of 19th century, the island was almost uninhabited except for a few
cattle herders. At that time, its location just from
Los Angeles—the city that had reached the population of 50,000 in 1890 and was undergoing the period of enormous growth—was a major factor that contributed to the development of the island into a vacation destination.
The first owner to try to develop Avalon into a resort destination was
George Shatto, a real estate speculator from
Grand Rapids, Michigan, who purchased the Island for $200,000 at the height of the
real estate boom in
Southern California in 1887
[Jessica Gelt, A day in: 90704, ''Los Angeles Times'', January 7, 2007]. Shatto created the settlement that would become Avalon, and can be credited with building the town's first hotel, the original Hotel Metropole, and pier
[Jessica Gelt, A day in: 90704, ''Los Angeles Times'', January 7, 2007]. His sister-in-law Etta Whitney came up with the name ''Avalon'', which was pulled as a reference from
Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "
Idylls of the King," which was about the legend of
King Arthur. Despite Shatto's efforts, in a few years he had to default on his loan and the island went back to the Lick estate.
The sons of
Phineas Banning bought the island in 1891 from the estate of
James Lick and established the Santa Catalina Island Company to develop it as a resort. They built a home at what is now
Twin Harbors, and is now that village's hotel. Their efforts were set back on
November 29,
1915 when a fire burned half of Avalon's buildings, including six hotels and several clubs.
World War I also hampered tourism, and the Banning brothers were forced to sell the island in 1919 to chewing gum magnate
William Wrigley, Jr.
From 1927 through 1937 pottery and tile were made on the island, and these items are now considered collectibles. The
Chicago Cubs, also owned by Wrigley, used the island for the team's
spring training from ca. 1920-1950, absent the war years of 1942-45.
During
World War II, the island was closed to tourists and used for military training facilities.
[2] Catalina's steamships were expropriated for use as troop transports, the U.S. Maritime Service set up a training facility in Avalon, the Coast Guard had training at Two Harbors, the Army Signal Corp maintained a radar station in the interior, and the
Office of Strategic Services (a precursor to the
CIA) did training at Toyon Bay.
[3]
Catalina's airport, the
"Airport in the Sky" (AVX), was completed in 1946. The 3,250-foot (990-meter) runway sits on a mountaintop, 1,602 feet (488 m) above sea level. Up until the time of the airport's construction, the only air service to the island was provided by
seaplanes.
In 1972, the
Brown Berets, a group of
Hispanic activists seized the island, citing the
Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, a treaty between
Mexico and
USA by which Mexico sold more than half of its territory, and arguing that the treaty does not specifically mention of the Channel Islands. The U.S. had occupied them since 1852, and it had been speculated that Mexico could claim the islands and seek their return through litigation before the
International Court of Justice. However, a detailed analysis of its situation puts in doubt the likelihood of Mexico winning the case at the International Court of Justice.
Known
shipwrecks in the waters off the island include the ''
Diosa del Mar'' (), which was sunk
July 30,
1990 near
Ship Rock.
The Wrigleys and the Casino
Avalon Bay around 1910, before the construction of the Casino
bought controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company in 1919 and devoted himself to preserving and promoting it, investing millions in needed infrastructure and attractions. In 1921 he sold lots for building in the town of Avalon.
The tourism industry was encouraged by the construction of a beautiful
Art Deco dance hall, called the ''Casino'', in 1929. The Casino was high when it was built and was the tallest building in
Los Angeles County at the time. Surrounded by sea on three sides, the circular Art Deco structure stands the equivalent of 12
stories tall.
Avalon Theater, on the first level, shows first-run movies nightly, and the theater's original Page Organ still plays before the show. The circular domed ceiling has remarkable acoustics studied by experts from around the world. The upper level houses the world's largest circular ballroom with a diameter dance floor. French doors encircle the room, and balcony views are spectacular.
Wrigley put in circular ramps instead of stairs, an idea taken from his
Chicago Cubs stadium. The ramps allowed the large numbers of people using the ballroom to quickly move to and from their destinations without accident or injury.
The upstairs dance floor has a capacity of over 6,000 dancers, and sits above the glamorous
Avalon Theater, which seats 1,150 and is the first ever designed specifically for sound movies. The upstairs dance floor is also used by the local high school basketball team making it one of the plushest and most expensive basketball courts ever.
The theater is so well-insulated that theater patrons cannot hear the band playing or the 6,000+ partying dancers on the floor above, yet the excellent acoustics are so good that a speaker on the theater stage can speak in a normal voice without a microphone and be heard clearly by everyone in the theater, including those in the back rows.
While the theater shows movies almost exclusively, it has the capabilities to host theatrical productions as well. The Casino's name derives from a more traditional
Italian definition of ''casino'', meaning ''social gathering place''; the building has never served as a
gambling establishment and for many years did not even serve alcoholic beverages.
In 1975,
Philip Wrigley deeded the Wrigley shares in the Santa Catalina Island Company to the
Catalina Island Conservancy that he had helped create. The Conservancy now stewards 88 percent of the island. The mission of the Catalina Island Conservancy is to be a responsible steward of its lands through a balance of conservation, education and
recreation. So far, the successes include the opening of California's first permanent
desalination plant in 1991.
Geology
According to
''Sunset'' magazine, "Catalina...is a geographic anomaly. Unlike California's other seven Channel Islands, it didn't break away from the mainland, but was formed by the upward heave of tectonic plates."
[4]
The island is very rich in
quartz and
silver, to the point that some beaches on the seaward side have silvery-grey sand.
Catalina is primarily composed of two distinct rock units,
Catalina Schist from the
Cretaceous and
volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks from the
Tertiary period.
Wildlife
Among thousands of species of plants and animals, Catalina is home to 15
taxa found nowhere else.
Flora
About 400 species of native plants grow on the island
[5]. Six species, subspecies or varieties are endemic and can be found only on Catalina Island. These plants are:
Catalina manzanita (''
Arctostaphylos catalinae'');
Catalina mahogany (''
Cercocarpus traskiae'');
Catalina dudleya (''
Dudleya hassei'');
St. Catherine’s lace (''
Eriogonum giganteum'' var. ''giganteum'');
Santa Catalina bedstraw (''
Galium catalinense'' ssp. ''catalinense''); and
Santa Catalina Island ironwood (''
Lyonothamnus floribundus'' ssp. ''floribundus'').
These plants may be seen at the Island's
Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens.
Avalon Bay is the major bay on Catalina Island
Fauna
The island is home to five
endemic mammals, among them, the
Catalina Island Fox and
Beechey Ground Squirrel. The Island Fox is an endangered
endemic species. In 1999 all but 100 out of 1,300 foxes on Catalina Island were wiped out due to a virulent strain of
canine distemper. Following a successful recovery program which included captive breeding, distemper vaccinations and population monitoring, the Catalina fox community has been restored to more than 400 individuals—a number deemed by the Conservancy scientists to be a self-sufficient population.
[6] However, mysterious, usually fatal ear tumors continue to plague the Catalina fox. Three Catalina Island Conservancy wildlife biologists continue to monitor the population through pit tagging, trapping and inspection.
A herd of
American Bison roam, supposedly first imported in 1924 for the
silent film version of
Zane Grey's
Western tale "The Vanishing American." Over the decades, the bison herd grew to as many as 600 individuals. Bison were routinely removed and sent to the mainland to auction. Recently however, another solution was implemented. The Conservancy initiated a scientific study that determined that a herd of between 150 and 200 would be good for the bison, and ecologically sound for the Island. In 2004, the Conservancy partnered with the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the
Tongva (thought to be Catalina's original inhabitants some 4,000 years ago), and the
Lakota tribe on the
Rosebud Reservation in
South Dakota. A hundred bison were relocated "home" to the Great Plains. The Conservancy plans to pursue a similar plan when the bison population exceeds 200 individuals. Although the bison are not native to the Island, they comprise an important role in the cultural fabric of Catalina. Therefore the Conservancy has no plans to remove all the animals from the Island.
The Conservancy is also working to restore
bald eagles to the Island.
In the waters surrounding the island, there are schools of fish like
garibaldi,
Yellowtail,
Calico Bass,
White seabass,
Giant sea bass,
Leopard sharks,
blacksmiths,
opaleyes and many more.
The
Catalina Orangetip is a notable insect of the island.
Tourism and attractions
Avalon beach in summertime
About a million tourists visit the island every year; Catalina is serviced by
ferries and the "Airport in the Sky." Ferries depart from
Orange County in
Newport Beach and
Dana Point, while they depart from
Los Angeles County in
Long Beach,
San Pedro, and
Marina del Rey. The trip takes approximately an hour and costs $40-60 round trip. Helicopter service is also available from Long Beach or San Pedro.
Most of the island is controlled by the
Catalina Island Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization. The mission of the Catalina Island Conservancy is to be a responsible steward of its lands through a balance of conservation, education and recreation. Through its ongoing efforts, the Conservancy protects the magnificent natural and cultural heritage of Santa Catalina Island, stewarding approximately 42,000 acres (170 km²) of land (88 percent of the island), 50 miles (80 km) of rugged shoreline, an airport, and more than of roads.
Under an agreement with
Los Angeles County, the Conservancy has granted an
easement to allow day hiking and mountain biking, but visitors must first obtain a permit at the Conservancy's office (on which they declare the parts of the island they intend to visit). Hiking permits are free, whereas bicycle permits are available for a fee (
as of 2006, $60 per person annual, $20 per person good for 2 consecutive days, helmets and mountain bikes with knobby tires required).
The use of
motor vehicles on the island is restricted; there is limit on the number of registered
cars, which translates into a 10-year-long wait list to bring a car to the island. Most residents move around via
golf cart. Tourists can hire a taxi from Catalina Transportation Services.
Bicycles are also a popular mode of transportation. There are a number of bicycle and golf cart rental agencies on the island. Only the city of Avalon is open to the public without restrictions.
Two Harbors, the smaller of the island's two population centers
The only major road into the back country is
Stage Road.
Glass bottom boats tour the
reefs and
shipwrecks of the area, and
scuba diving and
snorkeling are popular in the clear water.
Lover's Cove, to the east of town, and
Descanso Beach, to the west of the Casino, are popular places to dive. The area is famous for the schools of
flyingfish and the bright orange
Garibaldi which teem in local waters. Bus tours are given of the interior.
While tourists rarely have an opportunity to surf, two beaches on the "backside" of Catalina offer good waves:
Shark Harbor and
Ben Weston Beach.
Two Harbors is the second, and much smaller, resort village on the island. Located at the
isthmus of the island, north of Avalon, it is the primary landing spot for those who wish to tour the western half of the island. It is accessible by boat from
San Pedro and by bus or boat from Avalon.
Art Good, host of the
Jazztrax Showcase of the Absolute Newest, holds the
Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival there each year.
The
Catalina Island Museum, located in the historic
Casino Building, is also an attraction as it is the keeper of the the island's cultural heritage with collections numbering over 100,000 items and including over 7,000 years of
Native American history, over 10,000 photographs and images, a large collection of Catalina-made
pottery and
tile, ship models, and much more. The museum features dynamic exhibits on this history and also a unique gift store. Programs include walking tours of
Avalon, classes for students, gallery docents, lectures, an annual
silent film benefit and more.
Camps
Two
Boy Scouts of America councils in
Los Angeles County have camps north of Two Harbors:
Camp Cherry Valley, operated by the
San Gabriel Valley Council, located two coves north of Two Harbors at Cherry Cove; and
Camp Emerald Bay, operated by the
Western Los Angeles County Council, further up the coast.
The island contains a
YMCA summer camp named Camp Fox, operated by YMCA of Glendale, which holds several summer coed youth camps, a summer girl's camp, as well as a Christian leadership conference in spring. There is also
Campus by the Sea, a camp operated by
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, located at Gallagher's Cove.
There is also a coeducational camp at Howland's Landing named
Catalina Island Camps, which has been there since the 1920s. Catalina Island Camps is home to many camps including
Camp del Corazone, a camp for kids and counslers with heart disease or defects.
Guided Discoveries also runs several camps on Catalina Island providing hands on opportunities to learn
marine science and
environmental studies to school groups and community groups during school year and sea camps during the summer.
Infrared image of Catalina, foliage appears red.
Education
Children in Avalon attend schools in the
Long Beach Unified School District.
There is one
K-12 school on Catalina Island: Avalon Elementary School, Avalon Middle School and Avalon High School are all one big
K-12 school on one campus. About 800 students attend Avalon schools each year. Thousands of school-age youths travel from the
mainland to study at the
Catalina Island Marine Institute every year.
The
USC Wrigley Institute research and teaching facilities at Two Harbors, maintained by the
University of Southern California and named for
Philip K. Wrigley, consist of a laboratory building, dormitory housing, cafeteria, a
hyperbaric chamber, and a large waterfront staging area complete with dock, pier, helipad, and diving lockers. The facility was made possible by a generous donation from the
Wrigley family.
Pop culture and trivia
In the 1920s, in an effort to generate tourism towards Catalina, William Wrigley Jr. tried to convince
Gertrude Ederle, who had just become famous as first woman to swim across the
English Channel in 1926, to swim from Catalina to the mainland which was roughly the same distance. She declined, so he launched the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon: offering $25,000 to the first person to cross the channel, with $15,000 for the first finisher of "the fair sex." Out of a field of 102, only one man finished, Canadian swimmer George Young, finishing 15 hours and 44 minutes after the start. The two women who came the closest were awarded $2,500 each.
[7]
In 1936,
Ronald Reagan, as a young radio announcer for
WHO in
Des Moines, Iowa, traveled to Catalina to cover the Cubs during
spring training. While there, he took a
screen test and was offered an acting role.
After visiting Catalina Island,
Jack Owens, the Cruising Crooner, a popular radio vocalist of
Don McNeil's Breakfast Club, was inspired by the friendly greeting people used there, "Hi, Neighbor," and wrote the music and words in 1941 for a song of the same name, and it went on to be a top-selling pop tune that year.
In the early 1940s during
World War II,
Marilyn Monroe, as a young, married woman, briefly lived in Avalon with her first husband,
James Dougherty, a lieutenant in the
Merchant Marine, who was stationed on the island. Monroe often was a babysitter for neighborhood children.
On
May 31,
1950, actor
Gregory Harrison was born at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. His father, Ed Harrison, operated a glass-bottom boat sightseeing service on the island. Harrison went on to star in many stage, screen and television productions, including ''
Logan's Run'', ''
Trapper John, M.D.'', ''
Centennial'', and ''
It's My Party''. In 1980, Harrison and a partner founded an entertainment production company, the Catalina Production Group Ltd., named after his island birthplace.
In 1958, the
Four Preps recorded the hit song "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)"; the song reached the #2 position on the U.S. popular music charts.
The 1966
romantic comedy film ''
The Glass Bottom Boat'', starring
Doris Day and
Rod Taylor, was filmed on Catalina Island.
The 1967 teen comedy film ''
Catalina Caper'', starring
Tommy Kirk, was filmed on Catalina Island. This movie was later featured in episode 204 of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000''.
Several scenes from the 1974 film ''
Chinatown'', starring
Jack Nicholson and
Faye Dunaway, were filmed on Catalina, including one showing the Casino.
Actress
Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina in 1981 while on a boating trip with husband
Robert Wagner and actor
Christopher Walken.
Catalina and the Avalon Casino were the filming locations of the "
Airwolf" episode "Sins of the Past", though the island was given a fictional name.
Catalina Island is briefly mentioned in the 1987 movie ''
Lethal Weapon'' as the place where Roger (
Danny Glover) would like to fish with his new boat.
The 1988 film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' featured an oft-referenced vacation to Catalina Island as a subject in the failing relationship between
Eddie Valiant and
Dolores.
In 1982
Descendents released the album ''Milo Goes to College'', featuring a song called "Catalina."
In 1989 actor
Chad Allen is seen visiting Catalina Island in the promotional video ''The Real Chad Allen''. Allen is seen visiting Avalon there and also
snorkeling off the coast in the vicinity of a sunken ship.
In 1998, actor
Phil Hartman was fatally shot by his wife
Brynn Hartman, who committed suicide several hours after the murder. The couple's ashes were scattered in
Emerald Bay off the coast of Santa Catalina Island as specified in Hartman's
will.
The final scenes of the 1998 film ''
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss'' takes place on Catalina Island. The film closes with a song titled ''Love Slave of Catalina''.
In
Dan Brown's popular novel ''Deception Point'', published in 2001, there is a reference to sailing off the coast of Catalina.
In
Sandra Byrd's ''Faithful Friends: The Hidden Diary Series'' (published in 2001), the main setting and location for all the books is Catalina Island.
In 2002, the TV show ''
Endurance'' was filmed on the island.
In a season one episode of the Fox series ''
Arrested Development'' entitled "Staff Infection," employees of the Bluth Company get lost on Catalina Island, and are found and transported by a sheep herder in his animal trailer.
In the fictional novel, A Darkness More Than Night, by Michael Connelly, Catalina Island is featured extensively.
The 2006 TV Comedy ''Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door'', featuring
Crystal Allen,
Ken Marino and
Patrick Duffy takes place in Catalina Island.
2007 fire
Fire containment map, May 12, 2007
On
May 10,
2007, fire broke out in the hills north and west of the city of Avalon.
[Sahagun, L. and S. Quinones. 2007. Catalina fire lays siege to Avalon: Hundreds of residents and tourists are forced to flee the island. ''Los Angeles Times.'' 11 May.] At least three structures burned, and over 4000 acres (16 km²) were consumed by flames. Avalon City Councilman Scott Nelson said: "We've lost five or six small businesses in Falls Canyon and a construction company building in Birdpark Canyon." He also said that evacuees who took refuge in the casino, which is without power, have been moved to another location.
Nelson said about 100 firefighters were battling the blaze and that another 200 new recruits, arriving by hovercraft and Marine helicopters, were bedding down at the airport to work the day shift in the morning. Catalina Express was also running extra boats through the night to take people off the island. 700 evacuees were reportedly at the Ceasar E. Chavez center in Long Beach.
The eCatalina.com newsletter reported on June 1, 2007 about the fire, "Fortunately, the fire that captured the attention of the nation did not cause any damage to the charm of the City of Avalon, the community of Two Harbors or the activities, shopping, tours, restaurants and accommodations our visitors enjoy. of interior chaparral burned sparing most wildlife, including the Catalina Island Fox, bald eagles and bison."
[8]
References
1. Rearview Mirror: 1542, ''Los Angeles Times'', October 1, 2006.
2. Catalina Island Life During WWII, by Jeannine Pedersen, Curator of Collections, Catalina Island Museum
3. Otte, Stacey, Executive Director & Jeannine Pedersen, Curator
Catalina Island History (2004 Catalina Island Museum)
4. Reynolds, Gretchen, "Catalina Cool," ''Sunset'', Sept. 2006, pp. 32-38.
5. Lili Singer, A plant pilgrimage, ''Los Angeles Times'', August 10, 2006.
6. Rich Zanelli and Frank Starkey, Catalina's foxes stage a comeback, ''Los Angeles Times'', December 26, 2006.
7. James Rainey, Crossing the icy waters for posterity, ''Los Angeles Times'', October 18, 2005.
8. eCatalina.com, Vol. 6, No. 6, June 2006, http://www.ecatalina.com/newsletter_current.cfm
External links
Silhouette of Catalina Island at sunset, as seen from the mainland
★
Santa Catalina Island: Census Tract 5990 and Block Group 1, Census Tract 5991, Los Angeles County; United States Census Bureau
★
Website for Catalina Chamber of Commerce
★
Catalina Island Museum for Island History
★
The Catalina Island Conservancy
★
Two Harbors
★
USC Wrigley Institute
★
Santa Catalina Island Interpretive Center
★
Satellite Image of Santa Catalina Island
★
Endangered Fox Subspecies Petition PDF, 26 pages
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