Moss, Monterey County, California
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Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in
Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...
, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of . It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough and at the head of the
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
Monterey Canyon.


History

The earliest residents of the Moss Landing/Elkhorn Slough area were the
Ohlone The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...
people. Evidence from archaeological digs show that they may have lived here as long ago as 4,000 years. The Spanish forced the Ohlone into the mission system in the 1700s from which few survived. "A total of 81,000 Indians were baptized and 60,000 deaths were recorded." After the mission system was
secularized In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
, the Spanish government granted vast ranchos to soldiers and others with connections, including the
Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to María Antonia Pico de Castro. Literally translated, the name means "new pocket and lame moor". In ...
. This grant extended from Moss Landing to present-day Prunedale and south to Castroville. They farmed the land and ran cattle over the nearby hills. Americans arrived in the mid-1800s and farmers turned the area into cropland. In the early 1860s Charles Moss, a Texas ship captain, established with the help of a partner a landing and wharf to handle the emerging
grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...
in the Salinas Valley. William B. Post earned a reputation as a skilled bear and deer hunter in the
Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
region, and he traded in hides and buckskin. This work drew him north to Moss Landing. Post opened one of the first grain warehouses along the coast at Moss Landing. Flat bottom boats brought grain from all over the Salinas Valley to Elkhorn Slough and unloaded at Post's warehouse. W.B. became an agent for the steamship company of Goodall, Nelson and Perkins. The success of the shipping point stimulated the growth of Castroville, one of Monterey County's first municipalities, which served to support Moss Landing commerce. The location was initially named "Moss", after Charles Moss. The Moss post office opened in 1895 and in 1917 changed its name to "Moss Landing". It became a busy whaling and fishing port and a location for fish processing plants and canneries. The Moss Landing Harbor District, established in the 1940s, dredged channels and built piers. The Moss Landing Power Plant opened in 1950. The California State University system founded Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in 1966 (it was rebuilt nearby after the
Loma Prieta Earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
destroyed the facility in 1989), and in the mid-1990s the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute was moved to Moss Landing from Pacific Grove. In the 1980s, then-Monterey County Supervisor Marc Del Piero secured millions of dollars in federal grants to cure historic and chronic water pollution issues and sanitary sewers were installed.


Geography

Moss Landing is located in northern Monterey County, where Elkhorn Slough becomes an estuary as it flows into Monterey Bay at the head of the
Monterey Submarine Canyon Monterey Canyon, or Monterey Submarine Canyon, is a submarine canyon in Monterey Bay, California with steep canyon walls measuring a full 1 mile in height from bottom to top, which height/depth rivals the depth of the Grand Canyon itself. It is ...
.
California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Monta ...
follows the eastern edge of the community, leading north to
Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...
and southwest to Monterey. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 34.88%, are water.


Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Moss Landing has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.


Demographics


2010

The
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that Moss Landing had a population of 204. The population density was . The racial makeup of Moss Landing was 149 (73.0%) White, 7 (3.4%) African American, 1 (0.5%) Native American, 2 (1.0%)
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 1 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 30 (14.7%) from other races, and 14 (6.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 46 persons (22.5%). The Census reported that 204 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 100 households, out of which 21 (21.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 36 (36.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 11 (11.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 8 (8.0%)
unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 41 households (41.0%) were made up of individuals, and 11 (11.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04. There were 51 families (51.0% of all households); the average family size was 2.76. The population was spread out, with 32 people (15.7%) under the age of 18, 8 people (3.9%) aged 18 to 24, 54 people (26.5%) aged 25 to 44, 84 people (41.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 26 people (12.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.0 males. There were 108 housing units at an average density of , of which 55 (55.0%) were owner-occupied, and 45 (45.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.2%. 118 people (57.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 86 people (42.2%) lived in rental housing units.


2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 300 people, 125 households, and 68 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 135 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 59.33% White, 3.00% African American, 0.67% Native American, 2.00%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 21.67% from other races, and 13.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 28.3% of the population. There were 125 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% 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 3.09. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $66,442, and the median income for a family was $66,731. Males had a median income of $41,154 versus $36,691 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $28,005. About 13.0% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.7% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 or over.


Economy

Located in Moss Landing is the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a multi-campus research facility of the California State University. Also located here is the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a sister organization to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Moss Landing Power Plant is a natural gas plant and the largest battery storage facility in the world. Located at the intersection of
State Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...
and Dolan Road. It produces 2,538 megawatts, and is wholly owned by Dynegy. It is visible from Santa Cruz, California to the north and
Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
to the south on clear days. There is a commercial park adjacent to the power plant, housing manufacturers and laboratories. While intended as a backup for California's marginal electric grid, the plant could only power the state of California for about two minutes. Three fires have occurred in the last several years, causing a shutdown of the plant and emission of toxic air pollutants from the burning lithium ion batteries. Tourism is a large part of the economy in Moss Landing.


Arts and culture


Annual cultural events

The Moss Landing Antique Street Fair is held annually on the last Sunday in July and hosts hundreds of antique vendors. It brings over ten times the population of Moss Landing to the area. Other events include the May opener for rock cod fishing, blessing the fleet May 1, open house at Moss Landing Marine Labs held in April or May, and Nautical Flea Market held in May.


Tourism

Moss landing is most noted as the gateway to Elkhorn Slough, one of the largest wetlands in the state. Elkhorn Slough is a precious resource and is always ranked in the top 10 best birding spots in the US according to the Audubon's annual bird count. There are over 350 species of bird that migrate through the area annually. It is also known as one of the best spots in the world to see sea otters. Moss Landing lies in the northern part of Monterey County and has numerous restaurants, galleries, a bed and breakfast, and is the home port to many fishing and pleasure boats. Moss Landing Harbor District berths over 600 boats, including 350 fishing boats, 200 pleasure craft, 30 research vessels, and a half dozen tour and charter boats. The harbor's commercial boats land dungeness crab, halibut, king salmon, albacore, rockfish, sablefish, anchovies, sardines, squid, black cod, red snapper, covina, prawns, mackerel, and others. Several maritime businesses support harbor users including a fuel dock. The harbor district also provides two public boat launches and a community park. Moss Landing is home to the Shakespeare Society of America.


Parks and nature reserves

Moss Landing provides access to state and federal protected lands, including surfing destination
Moss Landing State Beach Moss Landing State Beach is a state park on Monterey Bay, in Monterey County, California. Description The beach and park is about north of the city of Monterey via Highway 1, about south of Watsonville. Among the most popular activities are o ...
,
Salinas River State Beach Salinas River State Beach is a beach at the river mouth of the Salinas River at Monterey Bay, in Monterey County, California. It is located at the south end of Moss Landing, California. The park can be accessed from the Potrero exit off of H ...
,
Zmudowski State Beach Zmudowski State Beach is located on Monterey Bay, in Moss Landing, Monterey County, northern California. It is operated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Coastal erosion has greatly affected Zmudowski State Beach, along with o ...
,
Moss Landing Wildlife Area Moss Landing Wildlife Area is a California State wildlife preserve on the shore of Elkhorn Slough. Description The Moss Landing Wildlife Area protects of Monterey County, California, just north of the town of Moss Landing, California. It inclu ...
, and the
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is a nature reserve that is located at 1700 Elkhorn Road in Watsonville, California. The reserve encompasses the central shore of Monterey Bay and is approximately south of San Francisco, Cal ...
.


References


External links


Moss Landing Chamber of Commerce

Moss Landing Harbor District
{{authority control Census-designated places in Monterey County, California Monterey Bay Populated coastal places in California Census-designated places in California