The Town of Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is 8.3 square mile town located on the Pacific Coast just 68 miles north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, California. The population was 1,077 during the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast.
The most prominent geological feature of Bodega Bay is Bodega Head, a peninsula that forms the the protective arm between the ocean and the bay. The San Andreas fault runs right through it, separating steep rocky bluffs from sandy dunes. Atop the bluffs, grasslands rise more gently to the coastal ridges. The Head provides a dramatic vista and the ideal place to watch whales migrate south twice yearly in January/February and April/May.
Doran Park is a strip of beach formed by the currents of Bodega Bay. The ocean side is ideal for water sports such as surfing and body boarding while the harbor side offers a salt marsh which is a habitat for a variety of birds. At the end of Doran Beach is the protected entrance to the harbor where the fog horn keeps a constant watch.
Until the Fall of 1775, the Miwok and Pomo Indians lived peacefully in the coastal mountains and valleys of what we now call Sonoma County. Their lifestyle revolved around the seasons, hunting and gathering from the land and harvesting the sea and rivers. Little changed over hundreds of years until the first white sails were spotted off the coast.
In 1857, the land was found useful for wine making and Bodega Bay University was founded by Agoston Haraszthy, an immigrant entrepreneur. 12, 13
To learn more about the area, visit http://www.bodegabay.com/
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