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Pacifica, California Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Pacifica, California facts for kids
| City of Pacifica | ||
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| City | ||
Aerial view of Pacifica
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 Location in San Mateo County and the state of California |
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  California |
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| County | San Mateo | |
| Incorporated | November 22, 1957 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 12.660 sq mi (32.789 km2) | |
| • Land | 12.658 sq mi (32.784 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.002 sq mi (0.005 km2) 0.01% | |
| Elevation | 82 ft (25 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 37,234 | |
| • Density | 2,941.07/sq mi (1,135.56/km2) | |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) | |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
| ZIP codes | 94044, 94045 | |
| Area code | 650 | |
| FIPS code | 06-54806 | |
| GNIS feature IDs | 277613, 2411351 | |
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.
Overview
The City of Pacifica is spread along a six-mile (9.7-kilometre) stretch of coastal beaches and hills in north central California. The city comprises several small valleys spread between Sweeney Ridge in the east, Montara Mountain to the south, and the Pacific Ocean's rocky bluffs to the west.
Pacifica is well known regionally as a popular surfing destination. Surfers and families often visit Linda Mar Beach. Rockaway Beach is a scenic location and offers recreation, shopping and dining. 2005 marked the opening of the top ranked Pacifica Skateboard Park. Pacifica is also a popular mountain biking destination, with many trails crossing the hillsides that surround the city, including Pedro Mountain Road, Sweeney Ridge, and areas of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Fishermen frequent the local beaches and the Pacifica Pier, often catching Striped Bass and Salmon. Pacifica is also a popular place to hike, with many trails that wind along the beaches and bluffs, including Mori Point, San Pedro Valley County Park, the Sanchez Adobe, Milagra Ridge, and the privately owned Pacifica quarry. For live local theater and performing arts, Pacifica Spindrift Players is a local and popular favorite, in addition to Pacifica Performances which regularly provides both musical presentations and performing arts as well. Pacifica is also home to the Sharp Park Golf Course, which was designed in 1931 by architect Alister MacKenzie. The world class bromeliad nursery, Shelldance Orchid Gardens is located just off Highway 1 in Pacifica, adjacent to the Sweeney Ridge hiking trailhead.
Neighborhoods
Pacifica is divided into roughly twelve distinct neighborhoods from north to south:
- Fairmont
- Westview (Pacific Highlands)
- Pacific Manor (Manor)[1]
- Edgemar
- Sharp Park [2]
- Fairway Park [3]
- Vallemar
- Rockaway Beach
- Pedro Point [4] and Shelter Cove[5] in the south west,
- Linda Mar, Linda Mar Valley, (formerly Pedro Valley or San Pedro Valley) in the south.
- Park Pacifica in south east portions of the city (called the Back of the Valley).
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1960 | 20,995 | — | |
| 1970 | 36,020 | 71.6% | |
| 1980 | 36,866 | 2.3% | |
| 1990 | 37,670 | 2.2% | |
| 2000 | 38,390 | 1.9% | |
| 2010 | 37,234 | −3.0% | |
| Est. 2015 | 39,260 | 5.4% | |
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2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Pacifica had a population of 37,234. The population density was 2,941.1 people per square mile (1,135.6/km²). The racial makeup of Pacifica was 55.6% white, 16.8% (6,243) Hispanic or Latino of any race, 976 (2.6%) African American, 206 (0.6%) Native American, 7,230 (19.4%) Asian, 315 (0.8%) Pacific Islander, 1,703 (4.6%) from other races, and 2,638 (7.1%) from two or more races.
The Census reported that 37,052 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 64 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 118 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 13,967 households, out of which 4,511 (32.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 7,385 (52.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,592 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 709 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 869 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 237 (1.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 3,126 households (22.4%) were made up of individuals and 1,098 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 9,686 families (69.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.12.
The population was spread out with 7,707 people (20.7%) under the age of 18, 2,842 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 10,011 people (26.9%) aged 25 to 44, 12,155 people (32.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,519 people (12.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
There were 14,523 housing units at an average density of 1,147.2 per square mile (442.9/km²), of which 9,545 (68.3%) were owner-occupied, and 4,422 (31.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 26,567 people (71.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,485 people (28.2%) lived in rental housing units.
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2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,390 people, 13,994 households, and 9,655 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,038.9 people per square mile (1,173.6/km²). There were 14,245 housing units at an average density of 1,127.6 per square mile (435.5/km²).
Pacifica shoreline during the 1983 El Niño
There were 13,994 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city, the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,737, and the median income for a family was $48,361 (these figures had risen to $52,000 and $62,463 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,761 versus $40,261 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,183. About 1.2% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
The oldest person to ever live in Pacifica is Rose G. Rosenthal who was born on April 8, 1901, and died December 27, 2008.
The Reverend Herschell Harkins Memorial pier was constructed in 1973 and was designed to carry sewage piping out to sea. It was closed in 1992 due to corrosion of some of the structure. Since then the pier has been repaired and is a well known fishing spot; on July 8–9, 1995, over 1,000 salmon were caught from the pier.
Geography
Topography
Pacifica straddles San Pedro Creek which flows from the western slope of Sweeney Ridge. The far eastern portion of Pacifica includes San Andreas Creek which flows down the eastern slope of Sweeney Ridge. The Portola expedition followed these two creeks in the discovery of San Francisco Bay. Calera Creek runs through Pacifica Quarry and is protected as ESHA Environmentally Sensitive Habitat.
Climate
Pacifica has a cool summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb) typical of coastal areas of California. The National Weather Service has maintained a cooperative weather station in Pacifica since November 1, 1983. Based on those records, average January temperatures range from 45.8 °F (7.7 °C) to 56.7 °F (13.7 °C) and average September temperatures range from 53.9 °F (12.2 °C) to 71.8 °F (22.1 °C). There are an average of 3.0 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 0.2 day with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower. The highest temperature on record was 102 °F (39 °C) on October 5, 1987, and the lowest temperature was 23 °F (−5 °C) on December 22, 1990. Annual precipitation averages 30.29 inches (769 mm) and has ranged from 15.88 inches (403 mm) in 1990 to 43.17 inches (1,097 mm) in 1996. The most rainfall in one month was 18.05 inches (458 mm) in February 1998 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 5.00 inches (127 mm) on December 27, 2004. There are an average of 66 days annually with measurable precipitation, most of which falls from October through May. Summer fogs often produce light drizzle in the night and morning hours. Condensation from the fogs also produces fog drip from trees overnight. No measurable snowfall has been recorded since records began. The southeastern portions of the municipality, such as Park Pacifica, are known to be much sunnier than the rest of the city.
History
Before European settlers arrived, Pacifica was home to two significant Ohlone Indian villages: Pruristac located at San Pedro Creek near present-day Adobe Drive, and Timigtac on Calera Creek in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood.
Pacifica is the location of the oldest European discovery of the San Francisco Bay. An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà sighted the bay by climbing the hills of Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica on October 31, 1769. Before then, earlier Spanish maritime explorers of the California coast (such as Juan Cabrillo and Sebastian Vizcaino) had missed the San Francisco Bay because heavy fog so frequently shrouded the entrance of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean (the Golden Gate). Sighting the San Francisco Bay accelerated the Spanish colonization of Alta California because it was the only large, safe, centrally located harbor on the Alta California coast. The Spanish had used Monterey Bay up until then as their main harbor, but it was much more dangerous than San Francisco Bay. In the Spanish era, Pacifica was the site of the San Pedro Valley Mission Outpost (1786–1793) of Mission Dolores. This was dissolved when a newly independent Mexico secularized the mission system. Pacifica is also the site of the still extant Mexican-era Sánchez Adobe built in 1846. The city is located on a part of the Mexican land grant Rancho San Pedro given to Francisco Sanchez in 1839.
Pacifica was incorporated in 1957, relatively recently in the history of San Mateo County, as the union of nine previously separate, unincorporated communities, including Edgemar, Sharp Park, Pacific Manor (or just Manor), Vallemar, Rockaway Beach and San Pedro Terrace-By-The-Sea, stops on the short lived Ocean Shore Railroad. The name "Pacifica" was chosen by vote. A close runner-up was the name "Coastside". In 1960, the city seal was designed by resident Ralph Barkey, who was inspired by Ralph Stackpole's towering "Pacifica" statue produced for the 1939–1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay.