Long Beach, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Long Beach, Washington
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Downtown Long Beach
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Location of Long Beach, Washington
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Pacific |
| Incorporated | January 18, 1922 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.89 sq mi (4.90 km2) |
| • Land | 1.38 sq mi (3.57 km2) |
| • Water | 0.51 sq mi (1.33 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,688 |
| • Density | 893.1/sq mi (344.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
98631
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| Area code(s) | 360 |
| FIPS code | 53-40070 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512400 |
| Website | City of Long Beach |
Long Beach is a small city located in Pacific County, Washington, in the United States. In 2020, about 1,688 people lived there. It's known for its long, sandy beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
Contents
History of Long Beach
Long Beach started in 1880 when Henry Harrison Tinker bought some land. He planned out the town and first called it "Tinkerville." The town officially became a city on January 18, 1922.
From 1889 to 1930, a special small train track, called a narrow-gauge railroad, ran along the whole peninsula. This train was part of the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company.
The train station in Long Beach was built near First and Second Streets. Two hotels were also built nearby. One of them, owned by the Hanniman family, was destroyed in a fire in 1914. Another popular place was the Driftwood Hotel.
The area near the train station was a busy spot for businesses and tourists. It was even called "Rubberneck Row." Here, you could find places like a bathhouse, candy shops, and soda fountains. There was also a souvenir shop and a barber shop.
Geography and Climate
Long Beach is located on the Long Beach Peninsula. The city covers about 1.35 square miles (3.5 square kilometers) of land. The peninsula itself is about 28 miles long.
Long Beach Climate and Weather
Long Beach has a special kind of climate called a "warm-summer Mediterranean climate." This means it has cool, but long and dry summers, and mild, wet winters. It rarely gets extremely hot or extremely cold.
The highest temperature ever recorded was 99°F (37°C) in 1981 and 2021. The lowest was 0°F (-18°C) in 1972. Long Beach gets a lot of rain each year, nearly 80 inches (2000 mm). Snow is not very common, but it does happen sometimes.
| Climate data for Long Beach, Washington (1991–2020 average) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) |
74 (23) |
73 (23) |
84 (29) |
95 (35) |
99 (37) |
95 (35) |
99 (37) |
92 (33) |
90 (32) |
72 (22) |
64 (18) |
99 (37) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 48.8 (9.3) |
50.4 (10.2) |
52.4 (11.3) |
55.0 (12.8) |
58.9 (14.9) |
62.0 (16.7) |
65.2 (18.4) |
66.5 (19.2) |
66.0 (18.9) |
59.7 (15.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
48.2 (9.0) |
57.1 (13.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 35.9 (2.2) |
35.4 (1.9) |
37.3 (2.9) |
40.2 (4.6) |
45.1 (7.3) |
48.9 (9.4) |
51.8 (11.0) |
51.6 (10.9) |
47.9 (8.8) |
42.2 (5.7) |
38.2 (3.4) |
35.8 (2.1) |
42.5 (5.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 8 (−13) |
9 (−13) |
25 (−4) |
26 (−3) |
30 (−1) |
33 (1) |
38 (3) |
36 (2) |
28 (−2) |
21 (−6) |
15 (−9) |
0 (−18) |
0 (−18) |
| Average rainfall inches (mm) | 12.04 (306) |
7.76 (197) |
8.71 (221) |
6.79 (172) |
3.55 (90) |
2.58 (66) |
1.01 (26) |
1.63 (41) |
2.66 (68) |
8.20 (208) |
11.43 (290) |
12.15 (309) |
78.51 (1,994) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.2 (0.51) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.6 (1.52) |
| Source 1: Weather.com | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Earthquake and Tsunami Safety
Long Beach is located near the Cascadia subduction zone. This is a place where big earthquakes can happen. If a very strong earthquake (like a magnitude 9.0) were to hit, emergency experts believe that the first tsunami waves could reach Long Beach in about 20 to 25 minutes. A tsunami is a series of very large ocean waves caused by underwater earthquakes or other big disturbances.
To help protect the city, there were plans to build a large protective wall, called a berm. This berm would have been 32 feet (9.8 meters) tall and designed to protect people from tsunami waves. However, these plans were stopped in 2017. New scientific information showed that the planned berm was not tall enough to protect against the biggest possible tsunami.
Population and People
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 396 | — | |
| 1940 | 620 | 56.6% | |
| 1950 | 783 | 26.3% | |
| 1960 | 665 | −15.1% | |
| 1970 | 968 | 45.6% | |
| 1980 | 1,199 | 23.9% | |
| 1990 | 1,236 | 3.1% | |
| 2000 | 1,283 | 3.8% | |
| 2010 | 1,392 | 8.5% | |
| 2020 | 1,688 | 21.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 2020 Census |
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In 2010, Long Beach had 1,392 people living in 726 households. About 15.4% of these households had children under 18. The average age of people in the city was 50.1 years old.
Arts and Culture
Long Beach is famous for its annual Razor Clam Festival, which has been held since 1940. During the first festival, they used a huge frying pan to cook a giant fritter with 200 pounds (91 kg) of local clams. This pan was borrowed from another city.
The next year, Long Beach made its own even bigger frying pan, called the World's Largest Frying Pan. They used it for festivals until the late 1940s. After that, it became a fun tourist attraction displayed in the downtown area.
Gallery
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Crystal Baths, Long Beach, c. 1905, looking south towards Cape Disappointment (high land in background)
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Long Beach, July 1909 "Rubberneck Row," looking north towards depot (building with 2 windows in distance just to right of telegraph pole)
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Waiting for train, Long Beach, August 1911, looking south, probably from depot window or roof
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Tinker's Hotel, Long Beach, looking east
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Long Beach (formerly Tinker's Hotel), April 1953
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Breakers Hotel, Long Beach, looking east from beach
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Breakers Hotel looking west
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Jake the Alligator Man at Marsh's Free Museum in Long Beach
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The whale skeleton on the Long Beach Trail
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Marsh's Free Museum
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Long Beach police station
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World's largest chopsticks
See also
In Spanish: Long Beach (Washington) para niños
