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Long Beach, Washington
Downtown Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach
Location of Long Beach, Washington
Location of Long Beach, Washington
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)
 • Total 1,688
 • Density 893.1/sq mi (344.5/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
98631
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.

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.

Longbeach WA coast
The Pacific Ocean and Long Beach

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)
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
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

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Long Beach (Washington) para niños

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