Bodega Bay, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bodega
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Bodega Bay in 2008, seen from across the harbor
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Location in Sonoma County and the state of California
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 Bodega Bay, California
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State | California |
| County | Sonoma |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12.52 sq mi (32.44 km2) |
| • Land | 8.35 sq mi (21.61 km2) |
| • Water | 4.18 sq mi (10.82 km2) 33.37% |
| Elevation | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 912 |
| • Density | 109.29/sq mi (42.20/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code |
94923
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| Area code | 707 |
| FIPS code | 06-07260 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1658093, 2407872 |
Bodega Bay is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 912 at the 2020 census. The town, located along State Route 1, is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast.
Contents
History
Bodega Bay is the site of the first Russian structures built in California, which were built in 1809 by Commerce Counseller Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov of the Russian-American Company in the lead-up to the establishment of Fort Ross. For the Russians, the settlement in Bodega Bay was called Port Rumyantsev, named after the Russian Foreign Minister Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, and it served as a port to support Fort Ross and the larger Russian community known as Colony Ross.
The location scenes in the Alfred Hitchcock-directed film The Birds (1963) were filmed in Bodega Bay. The town markets itself with the film in many ways, including its Birds-themed visitors' center. The location was also featured in the cult horror movie Puppet Master (1989).
PG+E wanted to build a nuclear power plant on Bodega Head in the 1960s, but the plans were shut down after large protest (the first for environmental reasons) and the fault, which they found while they were digging the hole for the first reactor. The hole filled with water and became known as "The Hole in the Head".
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32 km2), 8.3 square miles (21 km2) of it is land, and 4.2 square miles (11 km2) of it (33.37%) is water. The town lies on the edge of Bodega Harbor. Bodega Bay itself extends south along the coast to Tomales Bay. North of town lies a long coastal exposure of alternating rock outcrops and sandy beaches which is known as Sonoma Coast State Beach.
The U.S. National Weather Service provides a helpful visual aid graphing weather and climate information from the nearby Monterey sensors to display visually by month the annual typical temperatures, the past year's temperatures, and record temperatures.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Bodega Bay has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Like much of the California coast, summer afternoons are often cool and windy (and sometimes foggy) as winds blow in off the ocean.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2010 | 1,077 | — | |
| 2020 | 912 | −15.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2010 Census data
The 2010 United States Census reported that Bodega Bay had a population of 1,077. The population density was 86.0 people per square mile (33.2/km2). The ethnic makeup of Bodega Bay was 951 (88.3%) White, 2 (0.2%) African American, 4 (0.4%) Native American, 33 (3.1%) Asian, 4 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 49 (4.5%) from other races, and 34 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 126 persons (11.7%).
The Census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households and 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.
There were 533 households, out of which 77 (14.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 278 (52.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 22 (4.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 14 (2.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 33 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 (1.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 170 households (31.9%) were made up of individuals, and 67 (12.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00. There were 314 families (58.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.48.
The population was spread out, with 131 people (12.2%) under the age of 18, 52 people (4.8%) aged 18 to 24, 172 people (16.0%) aged 25 to 44, 409 people (38.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 313 people (29.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 57.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.
There were 1,060 housing units at an average density of 84.6 per square mile (32.7/km2), of which 67.9% were owner-occupied and 32.1% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 23.7%. 65.3% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33.7% lived in rental housing units.
Other facilities
A branch of the University of California operates a marine lab at Bodega Bay, the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
A nuclear power plant had been planned for Bodega Bay in the 1960s but was abandoned after both local and statewide protests and the discovery of a fault across the proposed site. Excavation for the site began at Bodega Head, and when the project was abandoned the area has been referred to by locals as "The Hole in the Head."
Education
Shoreline Unified School District operates the Bodega Bay School.
The district's high school is Tomales High School.
Notable people
Erden Eruç made history here when he completed the first entirely solo and entirely human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth. He began the expedition on July 10, 2007 in Bodega Bay and returned a little more than five years later on July 21, 2012.
Images for kids
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Bodega Bay is named after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, who explored Bodega Bay in 1775.
See also
In Spanish: Bodega Bay para niños
