The city is on the Pacific coast in the upper northwestern part of California, about 20 mi (32 km) south of the Oregon border. Crescent City's offshore geography makes it unusually susceptible to tsunamis.[11] Much of the city was destroyed by four tsunami waves generated by the Great Alaskan earthquake off Anchorage, Alaska in 1964. More recently, the city's harbor suffered extensive damage and destruction from tsunamis generated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake off Sendai, Japan. Several dozen vessels and many of the docks they were moored to were destroyed as wave cycles related to the tsunamis exceeded 8 ft (2.4 m).
The climate of Crescent City is moderate, with cool summers for its latitude as a result of intense maritime moderation. Nearby inland areas behind the mountains have significantly warmer summer temperatures.
History
The area that is now known as Del Norte County[12] was and still is inhabited by the Yurok (Klamath River Indians) and Tolowa Nations of indigenous peoples. The first European American to explore this land was pioneer Jedediah Smith in the early 19th century. He was the first European American to reach the area overland on foot in a time before the European Americans knew anything about such a distant territory. For him it was literally "Land's End" — where the American continent ended at the Pacific Ocean. In 1855, the U.S. Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark.[13]
European explorers first visited the area by ship in the late 1820s.[14] Europeans began moving to the area in the 1850s. Crescent City was incorporated as a city in 1854.[15]
The Brother Jonathan, a paddle steamer, crashed on an uncharted rock near Point St. George, off the coast of Crescent City, California, on July 30, 1865[17]
The SS Emidio, a 6,912 t (6,803 long tons; 7,619 short tons) tanker of the General Petroleum Corporation (later Mobil Oil), was the first casualty of the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarine force action on California's Pacific Coast on December 20, 1941. The damaged tanker broke up on the rocks off Crescent City. The remaining pieces of the ship are now California Historical Landmark #497[20]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.415 sq mi (6.25 km2), of which 1.963 sq mi (5.08 km2) (81.3%) is land and 0.452 sq mi (1.17 km2) (18.7%) is water. Fishing and crabbing, tourism, and timber are the major sources of income in Del Norte County.[21] Elk Creek flows into the Pacific Ocean at Crescent City. Its nearest Californian place of any size to its interior is Happy Camp separated by roughly 42 mi (68 km) by air, but, due to the unsuitable terrain, it is much farther by road. The nearest city is fellow coastal city Brookings, Oregon, around 20 mi (32 km) to its north. The Humboldt Bay area encompassing Eureka and Arcata is more than 60 mi (97 km) to its south. Crescent City is as far north in latitude as Chicago, Middle Island in Ontario, Canada, as well as New England on the Atlantic side. It is as much as nine degrees latitude north of San Diego at the southern tip of the state. Crescent City is closer to Vancouver, Canada (838 km (521 mi)) than to Los Angeles (1,003 km (623 mi)).[22]
Brother Jonathan Cemetery in Crescent CityCrescent City Harbor from Battery Point Lighthouse
Climate
Crescent City has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (KöppenCsb). The wettest months are from October to March; the wettest month is December with 11.14 in or 283.0 mm and the driest month is July with 0.33 in or 8.4 mm. The average high and low temperatures in December are 55 °F or 12.8 °C and 41 °F or 5 °C. The average high and low temperatures in August are 64 °F or 17.8 °C and 53 °F or 12 °C. On average, four mornings each winter fall below 32 °F or 0 °C.
The highest temperature recorded in Crescent City was 97 °F (36 °C) on September 20, 1989 and September 21, 1939. The lowest temperature on record was 19 °F (−7 °C) on January 20, 1937 and December 21, 1990. The maximum monthly precipitation was 31.25 in (793.8 mm) in November 1973. The wettest year was 1904 when 107.61 in (2,733.3 mm) fell and the driest year was 2013 with 28.92 in (734.6 mm). The maximum 24-hour precipitation was 7.73 in (196.3 mm) on January 9, 1995. The highest snowfall recorded for any period in 24 hours was 6.0 in (0.15 m) on January 26, 1972. The 30-year average annual precipitation in Crescent City has decreased from 64 inches (1,630 mm) in the 1980–2010 period to about 58 inches (1,470 mm) over the 1990–2020 period.[23]
The warmest ever overnight low was 68 °F (20 °C) in 1929 and the mean between 1991 and 2020 was at the modest 59 °F (15 °C).[23] Cold winter days are also rare. The coldest daytime temperature was 30 °F (−1 °C) in 1924, which remains the last time Crescent City did not climb above the freezing point for 24 hours.[23] Between 1991 and 2020, the coldest maximum temperature averaged 44 °F (7 °C).[23]
Climate data for Crescent City, California (Del Norte County Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1894–present
The bathymetry of the sea floor surrounding Crescent City has the effect of focusing tsunamis. According to researchers at Humboldt State University and the University of Southern California, the city experienced tsunami conditions 31 times between the years 1933 and 2008.[25] Although many of these incidents were barely perceptible, eleven events included wave measurements exceeding one meter, four events caused damage, and one event in particular is commonly cited as "the largest and most destructive recorded tsunami to strike the United States Pacific Coast."[26]
On March 27, 1964, the Great Alaskan earthquake off Anchorage, Alaska, set in motion local landslide tsunamis, as well as a trans-Pacific wave. The tsunami wave travel time to Crescent City was 4.1 hours after the earthquake, but it only produced localized flooding.[27] The second and third waves to hit Crescent City were smaller, but the fourth wave struck with a height of approximately 20 ft (6.1 m) after having drawn the harbor out nearly dry.[27] The next morning the damage was counted: 289 buildings and businesses had been destroyed; 1,000 cars and 25 large fishing vessels had been crushed; 12 people were confirmed dead, over 100 were injured, and more were missing; and 60 blocks had been inundated, with 30 city blocks destroyed. Although most of the missing were later accounted for, not all were tracked down. Insurance adjusters estimated that the city received more damage from the tsunami on a block-by-block basis than did Anchorage from the initial earthquake.[28]
The tsunami raced down the West Coast with more deaths and destruction, but no other location was hit as hard. Crescent City bore the brunt, due to its offshore geography, position relative to the earthquake's strike-line, underwater contours such as the Cobb Seamount, and the position of rivers near the city.[29] Although houses, buildings, and infrastructure were later rebuilt, years passed before the city recovered from the devastation to lives, property, and its economy. Since the 1980s, the breakwater has been protected from normal storm waves by hundreds of Dolos armor units, 38 ton concrete shapes.[30]
The city is deemed to be tsunami-ready today. Its preparedness was tested on June 14, 2005, when the 2005 Eureka earthquake measuring 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale hit 90 mi (145 km) offshore; much of the city (an estimated 6,000 people)[31] was evacuated when a tsunami warning was issued, and a 26 cm (10 in) tsunami wave hit the area.[32]
On November 15, 2006, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck off Simushir Island in the Kuril Islands in the western Pacific. A tsunami warning was issued but rescinded hours later. However, a surge from that quake did hit the harbor at Crescent City causing damage to three docks and several boats. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a county state of emergency. Upon that declaration, the area affected was eligible for federal emergency relief funding to repair the damage.[33][34]
Parts of the city were evacuated on March 11, 2011, after a 9.0 earthquake struck Japan.[35][36] Thirty-five boats were destroyed, and the harbor suffered major damage.[37][38] The reported peak surge was over 8 ft (2.4 m) by 9:50am.[39] Five were swept out to sea, and one person was killed.[37][40][41]
As of the 2003 Population Estimate from the Census Bureau, there were 7,319 people living in the city. Census data from the year 2000 indicate that the population density was 2,252.2/sqmi (868.9/km2). There were 1,754 housing units at an average density of 986.1/sqmi (380.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.3% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 6.1% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.3% from other races, and 6.0% from two or more races. 11.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,578 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.4% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.12.
The city population contained 30.1% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $20,133, and the median income for a family was $22,058. Males had a median income of $36,667 versus $19,922 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,833. 34.6% of the population and 33.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 46.6% of those under the age of 18 and 4.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
The Census reported that 4,063 people (53.2% of the population) lived in households, 28 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 3,552 (46.5%) were institutionalized. The very high institutionalized percentage is a result of the presence of Pelican Bay State Prison, which was annexed into the city limits in the 1990s.
There were 1,707 households, out of which 559 (32.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 512 (30.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 314 (18.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 114 (6.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 170 (10.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 614 households (36.0%) were made up of individuals, and 229 (13.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 940 families (55.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.13.
The city population contained 1,107 people (14.5%) under the age of 18, 934 people (12.2%) aged 18 to 24, 3,292 people (43.1%) aged 25 to 44, 1,725 people (22.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 585 people (7.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 250.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 298.5 males.
There were 1,906 housing units at an average density of 789.2/sqmi (304.7/km2), of which 1,707 were occupied, of which 532 (31.2%) were owner-occupied, and 1,175 (68.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 7.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 1,203 people (15.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,860 people (37.4%) lived in rental housing units.
The public schools of Crescent City are part of the Del Norte County Unified School District, which encompasses all of the public schools in Del Norte County. The following are schools within Crescent City or its immediate vicinity.
Del Norte High School is the only public high school in Crescent City, located on the northern edge of town. It replaced the earlier high school that was more centrally located, and which remains today as a public-access gymnasium and county offices
The Bess Maxwell Elementary School is the older of two elementary schools in the northern part of town that are located near the high school. Bess Maxwell serves grades 1–5. In its earlier years, it was a K–6 school
The Castle Rock Charter School is a K–12 charter school that provides personalized education to students, and is the liaison school for parents who home school their children. It operates the Tah-Ah-Dun American IndianMagnet School to provide for the unique requirements of American Indian students who might be at risk. (Tah-Ah-Dun is the Tolowa name for Crescent City, honoring the Tolowa village that stood on present-day Crescent City.) The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Crescent Elk Middle School is the oldest operating school site in town, centrally located in Crescent City. The site was originally a K–8 school, but slowly shed grade levels to other schools as it became a 4–6 school with a separate 7–8 program, then the 6–8 program that it is today
Mary Peacock Elementary School is the newer of two elementary schools that are located near the high school. The creation of Pelican Bay State Prison caused an increase in housing demand in the Crescent City area, and an increased school district population. This school was built to address that demand, but is not directly associated with the prison
Joe Hamilton Elementary School is a K–5 school located near Crescent Elk Middle School. It was founded as a K–3 school
Pine Grove Elementary School has been a K–5 school for many years. It serves the eastern part of Crescent City
Sunset High School is another Crescent City high school with its own child care center[45]
Transportation
Highway access is provided by U.S. Route 101, which runs directly through the city, connecting the Oregon Coast to the north and Eureka to the south. U.S. Route 199 begins north of Crescent City and runs northeast to Grants Pass, Oregon. The junction of U.S. Routes 101 and 199 is one of only two junctions of two U.S. Routes in California, the other being the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 395 in Bishop.
Local public transit is provided by Redwood Coast Transit and by various taxi companies. Crescent City is also served by Curry Public Transit, and POINT.
The Crescent City Harbor serves as a commercial fishing port for salmon, shrimp, tuna, cod, and dungeness crab commercial fishing vessels. The Harbor is also home to multiple fishing and non-fishing related businesses and harbor governmental offices. The Crescent City Harbor also has several pleasure boat docks.[48]
^McKinley, Jesse (March 16, 2011). "Sleepy California Town, and a Tsunami Magnet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011. Crescent City has long been known as one of the nation's most susceptible spots when it comes to tsunamis, something that experts say is a result of a number of factors
^"The Redwood Empire". Wandering Lizard. Cristalen. 2010. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
^"Crescent City People and Place"(PDF). Community Profiles. National Oceanic and Atmospheres Administration. 2007. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 28, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
^Gleason, Hall (1937). Old Ships and Ship-Building Days of Medford. Medford MA: J.C. Miller. p. 71.
^Powers, Dennis (2006). Treasure Ship: The Legend and Legacy of the S.S. Brother Jonathan. New York NY: Kensington/Citadel Press.
^Webber, Ebbert (1975). Retaliation: Japanese Attacks and Allied Countermeasures on the Pacific Coast in World War II. Oregon State University Press. ISBN978-0-87071-076-6.
^Dengler, Lori; B. Uslu; A. Barberopoulou; J. Borrero; C. Synolakis (September–October 2008). "The Vulnerability of Crescent City CA to Tsunamis Generated by Earthquakes in the Kuril Islands Region of the Northwestern Pacific". Seismological Research Letters. 79 (5): 608–619. doi:10.1785/gssrl.79.5.608.
^"1964 Alaskan Tsunami". USC Tsunami Research Group. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
^Uslu, Burak; Borrero, Jose C.; Dengler, Lori; Synolakis, Costas E.; Barberopoulou, Aggeliki (2008). "Tsunami Inundation from Great Earthquakes on the Cascadia Subduction Zone along the Northern California Coast". Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2008. pp. 204–214. doi:10.1061/40978(313)19. ISBN978-0-7844-0978-7.
