Bodega Bay, California

Bodega Bay
—  census-designated place  —
Bodega Bay in 2008, seen from across the harbor
Location in Sonoma County and the state of California
Coordinates: [1]
Country  United States
State  California
County Sonoma
Area[2]
 • Total 12.524 sq mi (32.436 km2)
 • Land 8.345 sq mi (21.613 km2)
 • Water 4.179 sq mi (10.823 km2)  33.37%
Elevation[3] 56 ft (17 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,077
 • Density 86/sq mi (33.2/km2)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 94923
Area code(s) 707
FIPS code 06-07260
GNIS feature ID 1658093

Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast.

Bodega Bay is the site of the first Russian structures built in California. These were built in 1809 by Commerce Counseller Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, of the Russian-American Company in the lead up to the establishment of Fort Ross. For the Russians, the settlement in Bodega Bay was called Port Rumyantsev, named after the Russian Foreign Minister Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, and it served as a port to support Fort Ross and the larger Russian community known as Colony Ross.[4][5]

The Alfred Hitchcock-directed film, The Birds, was filmed in Bodega Bay. The town markets itself with the film in many ways, including its Birds-themed Visitors' Center. The location was also featured in the cult horror movie Puppet Master.

Contents

Demographics

2010 Census data

The 2010 United States Census[6] reported that Bodega Bay had a population of 1,077. The population density was 86.0 people per square mile (33.2/km²). The racial makeup of Bodega Bay was 951 (88.3%) White, 2 (0.2%) African American, 4 (0.4%) Native American, 33 (3.1%) Asian, 4 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 49 (4.5%) from other races, and 34 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 126 persons (11.7%).

The Census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households and 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.

There were 533 households, out of which 77 (14.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 278 (52.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 22 (4.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 14 (2.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 33 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 (1.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 170 households (31.9%) were made up of individuals and 67 (12.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00. There were 314 families (58.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.48.

The population was spread out with 131 people (12.2%) under the age of 18, 52 people (4.8%) aged 18 to 24, 172 people (16.0%) aged 25 to 44, 409 people (38.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 313 people (29.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 57.2 years. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.

There were 1,060 housing units at an average density of 84.6 per square mile (32.7/km²), of which 67.9% were owner-occupied and 32.1% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 23.7%. 65.3% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 33.7% lived in rental housing units.

2000 Census data

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 1,423 people, 669 households, and 432 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 169.7 per square mile (65.6/km²). There were 1,144 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile (52.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.52% White, 0.35% African American, 1.55% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 9.07% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.18% of the population. There were 669 households out of which 14.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.47.

In the CDP the population was 12.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 36.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $56,818, and the median income for a family was $60,750. Males had a median income of $27,778 versus $28,375 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $37,226. About 2.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32 km2), 8.3 square miles (21 km2) of it is land, and 4.2 square miles (11 km2) of it (33.37%) is water. The town lies on the edge of Bodega Harbor. Bodega Bay itself extends south along the coast to Tomales Bay. North of town lies a long coastal exposure of alternating rock outcrops and sandy beaches which is known as Sonoma Coast State Beach.

The U.S. National Weather Service provides a helpful visual aid[8] graphing weather and climate information from the nearby Monterey sensors to display visually by month the annual typical temperatures, the past year's temperatures, and record temperatures.

Politics

In the state legislature, Bodega Bay is located in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Noreen Evans, and in the 1st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Wesley Chesbro. Federally, Bodega Bay is located in California's 6th congressional district.

Film locations

Bodega Bay has served as a location for several major films:[9][10]

Other facilities

A branch of the University of California operates a marine lab at Bodega Bay, the Bodega Marine Laboratory.

A nuclear power plant had been planned for Bodega Bay in the 1960s but was abandoned after both local and statewide protests and the discovery of an earthquake fault across the proposed site. Excavation for the site began at Bodega Head, and when the project was abandoned the area has been referred to by locals as "The Hole in the Head."[11]

Notable residents

Bodega Bay was the hometown of Nicholas Green, the little American boy shot dead during a robbery by highwaymen in Italy where his family was on vacation. Nicholas and his family became famous when almost every harvestable organ or body part was donated to those in need following his death.[12]

References

  1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  2. ^ U.S. Census
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bodega Bay
  4. ^ Watrous, Steven (2001). "Outpost of an Empire: Russian Expansion To America". Fort Ross. Fort Ross Interpretive Association. http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/Russian%20American%20Company.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
  5. ^ Schwartz, Harvey (1989). "Fort Ross: Historic Russian Fort in California". In Howard DeWitt. Readings in California Civilization. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.. https://www.ohlone.edu/instr/english/elc/engl163/fortross.html. 
  6. ^ All data are derived from the United States Census Bureau reports from the 2010 United States Census, and are accessible on-line here. The data on unmarried partnerships and same-sex married couples are from the Census report DEC_10_SF1_PCT15. All other housing and population data are from Census report DEC_10_DP_DPDP1. Both reports are viewable online or downloadable in a zip file containing a comma-delimited data file. The area data, from which densities are calculated, are available on-line here. Percentage totals may not add to 100% due to rounding. The Census Bureau defines families as a household containing one or more people related to the householder by birth, opposite-sex marriage, or adoption. People living in group quarters are tabulated by the Census Bureau as neither owners nor renters. For further details, see the text files accompanying the data files containing the Census reports mentioned above.
  7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  8. ^ http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/climate/yeardisp.php?wfo=mtr&stn=KSFO&submit=Yearly+Charts San Francisco Bay Area / Monterey
  9. ^ "OldMovies.com". http://www.oldmovies.com/. 
  10. ^ "The Internet Movie Database". http://www.imdb.com. 
  11. ^ "Sonoma Coast - Hike Bodega Head". http://santarosa.about.com/od/nature/p/bodega_head.htm. 
  12. ^ "The Nicholas Green Foundation". http://www.nicholasgreen.org/. 

External links