Two Harbors, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Two Harbors, California
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View of Two Harbors from the north
at 16,000 feet in 2015. |
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Location of Two Harbors in Los Angeles County, California.
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 Two Harbors, California
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Two Harbors, California
Location in California
Two Harbors, California
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Los Angeles |
| Population | |
| • Total | 298 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
| Zip code |
90704
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| Area code(s) | 310 |
Two Harbors, also known as "The Isthmus", is a small village on Santa Catalina Island, California, in the United States. It's called an "unincorporated community" because it's not officially a city. In 2000, about 298 people lived there.
Two Harbors is the second main community on the island. The biggest city is Avalon. Two Harbors is mostly a resort village, which means it's a popular place for vacations. It has just one restaurant, one hotel, and one general store. About 150 people live in Two Harbors all year round. A special part of its history was its one-room schoolhouse, which closed in 2014.
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Exploring Two Harbors' Location
Two Harbors is a small island village. It is about 23 miles (37 kilometers) from San Pedro Harbor. It sits on a narrow strip of land on Santa Catalina Island. This narrow strip is called an isthmus.
The village is about 18 miles (29 kilometers) from Avalon, the only city on the island. Two Harbors gets its name from the two harbors it sits between. These are Isthmus Cove (also called Banning Harbor) on the northern side and Catalina (or Cat) Harbor on the southern side. These two harbors are separated by only about 0.48 miles (770 meters) of land. They almost cut off the northwestern part of the island from the main section.
Near Two Harbors is a tiny island called White Rock Island, or Bird Rock. It's very small, only about 6,312 square meters (68,000 square feet). It is about 0.87 miles (1.4 kilometers) northeast of Two Harbors.
A Look Back at Two Harbors' Past
The area where Two Harbors is located was first known simply as the Isthmus of Catalina Island. In the 1860s, people mined for silver, lead, and zinc here.
During the American Civil War in 1864, the Union Army sent 83 soldiers to the island. They set up Camp Santa Catalina Island. Their job was to protect the area from Confederate privateers. Privateers were like private ships that attacked enemy ships. The soldiers also checked the area for a possible future Indian reservation. But the idea for a reservation was dropped, and the camp closed.
The buildings the Army built were later used by movie crews in the 1920s and 1930s. During World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard used them. In 1951, they became the home of the Isthmus Yacht Club.
A Chinese merchant ship called the Ning Po was built in 1753. It had a long history of wars, rebellions, and piracy. In 1913, it came to Catalina and became a tourist attraction. Sadly, the Ning Po burned down off the western shore of the isthmus in 1938. The fire also destroyed other old wooden sailing ships. One of these was the Llewellyn J. Morse. This ship had been used in movies, even pretending to be the famous USS Constitution in the silent film Old Ironsides.
Learning and Research in Two Harbors
Schools for Kids
Two Harbors is part of the Long Beach Unified School District. The village used to have a one-room schoolhouse. But it closed in 2014 because fewer students were attending. Now, school-aged children go to Avalon Schools for kindergarten through 12th grade.
University Research Center
The USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies is in Two Harbors. It's a research and education center run by the University of Southern California. This facility helps scientists study the environment.
The campus has a large laboratory building, dorms for students, a cafeteria, and a special hyperbaric chamber. It also has a big waterfront area with a dock, pier, helipad, and diving lockers. The Wrigley family, known for their chewing gum company, donated money to make this facility possible. It was named after Philip K. Wrigley.
Getting Around Two Harbors
You can get to Two Harbors by ferry. There are regular daily ferry services from San Pedro. You can also charter a helicopter to fly to the village. The Catalina Airport-In-The-Sky is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the east. Other private charter boats also offer service to the island.
Most people in Two Harbors walk or bike. They use these ways to get around the village and to nearby campgrounds like Little Harbor and Parsons Landing. Currently, there isn't a shuttle service for guests between these places.
A ferry run by the Catalina Island Company offers seasonal transportation between Avalon and Two Harbors. Taxi service is also available if you need it.
Images for kids
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Aerial view of the Naval-Coast Guard base at the Isthmus, likely during the WW2 era. This is where Two Harbors village would later be.
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Naval-Coast Guard base in the foreground, between 1917 and 1947.
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See also
- Camp Cherry Valley
- Camp Emerald Bay
