Morro Bay (''Morro'',
Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo ...
, United States. Located on the
Central Coast of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, the city's population was 10,757 as of the
2020 census, up from 10,234 at the
2010 census. The town overlooks Morro Bay, a natural
embayment
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
with an all-weather, small-craft, commercial and recreational harbor.
History
The prehistory of Morro Bay relates to
Chumash settlement, particularly near the mouth of
Morro Creek. At least as early as the
Millingstone Horizon thousands of years before present, an extensive settlement existed along the banks and terraces above Morro Creek. A tribal site on present-day Morro Bay was named ''tsɨtqawɨ'',
Obispeño for "Place of the Dogs".
The
first recorded
Filipinos
Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...
to visit America arrived at Morro Bay on October 18, 1587, from the Spanish galleon
''Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza''; one of whom was killed by local Native Americans while scouting ahead.
The first European land exploration of
Alta California
Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
, the Spanish
Portolá expedition
thumbnail, 250px, Point of San Francisco Bay Discovery
The Portolá expedition was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European exploration of the interior of the present-day California. It was led by Gas ...
, came down Los Osos Valley and camped near today's Morro Bay on
September 8, 1769.
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
missionary and expedition member
Juan Crespí
Juan Crespí, OFM (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Joan Crespí''; 1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of The Californias, Las Californias.
Biography
A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan ord ...
noted in his diary, "we saw a great rock in the form of a round morro".
While governed by Mexico, large
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
s split the surrounding area into cattle and dairy ''ranchos'', which needed shipping to bring in dry goods and to carry their crops, animals, and other farm products to cities.
The town of Morro Bay was founded by Franklin Riley in 1870 as a port for the export of dairy and ranch products. He was instrumental in the building of a wharf, which has now become the Embarcadero. During the 1870s,
schooner
A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
s could often be seen at the Embarcadero, picking up wool, potatoes, barley, and dairy products.
A subspecies of butterfly, the "Morro Bay Blue" or " Morro Blue" (''
Icaricia icarioides moroensis'') was first found at Morro Beach by entomologist
Robert F. Sternitzky, in June 1929.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a U.S. Navy base,
Amphibious Training Base Morro Bay, was on the north side of Morro Rock, where sailors were trained to operate
LCVPs. The breakwater on the southwest side of the rock was built in 1944–45 to protect the LCVPs entering and leaving the harbor. Soldiers from
Camp San Luis Obispo came to Morro Bay and practice loading into the LCVPs. Many of those men were at
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
on
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
.
In the 1940s, Morro Bay developed an
abalone
Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...
-fishing industry; it peaked in 1957; stocks of abalone had declined significantly due to overfishing.
Halibut
Halibut is the common name for three species of flatfish in the family of right-eye flounders. In some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish are also referred to as halibut.
The word is derived from ''haly'' (holy) and ...
,
sole,
rockfish,
albacore
The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Scombriformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct ...
, and many other species are still caught by both commercial and sport vessels. In addition,
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...
s are grown by
aquaculture
Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
in the shallow back bay.
In the 1950s, the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered at Kaiser Center, in Oakland, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 million households in the norther ...
built the Morro Bay Power Plant, which created jobs and increased the tax base and led to the city acquiring the nickname "Three Stacks and a Rock". The city incorporated in 1964.
The plant closed in February 2014.
Geography
Morro Bay is the name of the large estuary situated along the northern shores of the bay itself. The larger bay on which the local area lies is
Estero Bay, which also encompasses the communities of
Cayucos and
Los Osos. The city of Morro Bay is northwest of
San Luis Obispo
; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
and is located on
Highway 1.
Los Osos Creek discharges into Morro Bay.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which (48.63%) are covered by water.
Morro Rock
Morro Rock is a 576-ft-high (176 m)
volcanic plug
A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcano, volcanic object created when magma hardens within a Volcanic vent, vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if risi ...
located at the entrance to the harbor. The descriptive term ''morro'' is common to the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian languages, and the word is part of many place names where a distinctive and prominent hill-shaped rock formation exists. Originally, it was surrounded by water, but the northern channel was filled in to make the harbor. It was
quarried from 1889 to 1969, and in 1968, it was designated a Historical Landmark.
The area around the base of Morro Rock is open to visitors, with parking lots and paths. Climbing the rock is prohibited due to risk of injury, and because it is a
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...
reserve.
Morro Rock is one in a series of similar plugs that stretch in a line inland called the
Nine Sisters.
Morro Bay Harbor
Morro Bay is a natural
embayment
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
with an artificial harbor constructed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
. It is the only all-weather, small-craft, commercial and recreational harbor between
Santa Barbara and
Monterey
Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.
The city was fou ...
. Morro Rock was originally surrounded by water, but the Army built a large artificial
breakwater and road across the north end of the harbor, linking Morro Rock and the mainland. Some of the rock used for this and for the artificial breakwaters was quarried from Morro Rock itself. Other rock was imported by barge from
Catalina Island. The bay extends inland and parallels the shore for a distance of about south of its entrance at Morro Rock. Morro Bay is recognized for protection by the
California Bays and Estuaries Policy.
[State Water Resources Control Board ''Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California'' (1974) State of California] A small summer colony of otters ususally can be seen in the kelp near the harbor entrance.
Climate
Morro Bay experiences a mild
warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Csb'') characteristic of coastal California, featuring dry, warm summers and wet, mild winters. The city is located next to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, which helps moderate temperatures and create an overall pleasant, mild, year-round climate, resulting in warmer winters and cooler summers compared with places farther inland, such as
Atascadero. Summers in Morro Bay are cool for a city located at
35°N latitude, with July averaging around . Winters are mild, with January averaging at with around eight days of measurable precipitation.
Demographics
2020

The
2020 United States census reported that Morro Bay had a population of 10,757. The population density was . The racial makeup of Morro Bay was 78.3%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.8%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 3.0%
Asian, 0.2%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 6.3% from
other races, and 10.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.6% of the population.
The census reported that 96.7% of the population lived in households, 1.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.3% were institutionalized.
[
There were 5,038 households, out of which 17.7% included children under the age of 18, 42.6% were married-couple households, 7.0% were cohabiting couple households, 30.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.4% of households were one person, and 20.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.07.][ There were 2,848 ]families
Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(56.5% of all households).
The age distribution was 13.2% under the age of 18, 5.6% aged 18 to 24, 20.4% aged 25 to 44, 28.0% aged 45 to 64, and 32.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 54.6years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males.[
There were 6,528 housing units at an average density of , of which 5,038 (77.2%) were occupied. Of these, 56.3% were owner-occupied, and 43.7% were occupied by renters.][
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 5.8% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 89.4% spoke only English at home, 6.1% spoke Spanish, 3.4% spoke other ]Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
, 0.8% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.3% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 93.9% were high school graduates and 46.4% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $92,553, and the per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $59,411. About 5.7% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Morro Bay had a population of 10,234. The population density was . The racial makeup of Morro Bay was 87.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.0% from other races, and 3.0%from two or more races. About 14.9% of the residents were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. The census reported that 98.4% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and 1.2% were institutionalized.
Of the 4,844 households, 19.0% had children under 18 living in them, 40.7% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present; 6.8% were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0.7% were same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the 1,808 households, 37.3% were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.08. About 53.6% of all households were families; the average family size was 2.70.
The city's age distribution was 15.0% under 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 48.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The 6,320 housing units had an average density of , of which 53.3% were owner-occupied and 46.7% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%. About 51.0% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 47.4% lived in rental housing units.
Morro Bay High School, Los Osos Middle School, and Del Mar Elementary offer education for grades 9-12, grades 6-8, and kindergarten through grade 5, respectively.
Economy
Tourism is the city's largest industry, coexisting with the town's commercial fishery. A number of tourist attractions are found along the shoreline and the streets closest to it, especially the Embarcadero, including restaurants, shops and parks. Further, hospitality is the cornerstone of Morro Bay's economy. The city heavily relies on visitors staying at hotels, as tax revenues from those stays make up a significant portion of the city's General Fund. The importance of travelers staying in hotels is solidified by the number and variety of accommodations. Hotels, motels, and inns within Morro Bay continuously adapt to accommodate visitors by investing in their amenities, accommodations, and conditions.
The most popular beach is on the north side of Morro Rock, north of the harbor. Also, excellent beaches are found north and south of the town, at Morro Strand State Beach
Morro Strand State Beach (formerly Atascadero State Beach) is a protected beach within California's state park system located in north Morro Bay, California, Morro Bay along California State Route 1. Morro Strand is a popular coastal frontag ...
and Morro Bay State Park
Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay, California#Geography, Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's ...
, respectively.
Power plant
The power plant
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
has played a large role in Morro Bay, and in providing electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
and Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.
Bakersfield's population as of the ...
). It was built by PG&E in the mid-1950s to a design by architect William Gladstone Merchant, and was expanded in the 1960s. A portion of the city's budget came from taxes on the natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
the plant burned.[ In 1997, PG&E sold the plant to ]Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...
under a state law requiring energy producers to reduce their assets.[
The 650-]megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
plant employed more than 100 workers at its peak and operated around the clock during the energy crisis of 2000, but by the mid-2010s, when it was owned by Dynegy
Dynegy Inc. is an electric company based in Houston, Texas. It owns and operates a number of power stations in the U.S., all of which are powered by fossil fuels. Dynegy was acquired by Vistra Corp on April 9, 2018. The company is located at 601 ...
, it had become uneconomical and was operating at 5% of capacity, primarily during periods of peak energy demand. It would have required expensive upgrades by 2015 to conform to state law. Duke had proposed modernizing the plant by converting it to combined cycle
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
power generation, but the modernization was not carried out,[ and Dynegy closed the plant in February 2014.]
In 2018, a joint venture of German energy company EnBW and Seattle-based Trident Winds announced its plan to obtain the power plant's grid connection to connect a 650 MW floating offshore wind park comprising up to 100 floating wind turbines and a floating substation situated some off the coast. In 2022, TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...
, a French energy company, entered the joint venture with Trident Winds and took over the shares previously held by EnBW.
In 2021, the city council of Morro Bay voted 4–1 to take down the power plant's smokestacks by 2028. The city estimated that maintaining the smoke stacks would cost around a million dollars per year. Vistra Energy, which had purchased Dynegy, agreed to tear down the stacks and plans to build a lithium-ion battery
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...
installation.
Government
In the California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Morro Bay is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Morro Bay is in California's 24th congressional district
California's 24th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by Salud Carbajal. It contains all of Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County, most of Sa ...
, which has a Cook PVI of D +4 and is represented by .
Education
It is in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.[ ]
Text list
/ref>
Notable people
* James Horvath, children's author and illustrator
* Jack LaLanne, American fitness, exercise, nutritional expert and motivational speaker
* Jerome Long, NFL defensive lineman
*Kent Nagano
Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025).
Early life and education
Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...
, conductor and opera administrator, grew up in Morro Bay and graduated from Morro Bay High School
* Mel Queen, professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive
* Gladys Walton, silent film actress
In popular culture
*Morro Bay served as the primary setting for Pixar's 2016 film ''Finding Dory
''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Angus MacLane, produced by Lindsey Collins, and written b ...
'', in which it was revealed that Dory's childhood home was the Marine Life Institute, known as "The Jewel of Morro Bay, California".
*The 2002 film '' Murder by Numbers'' was filmed on the Morro Bay Embarcadero, as well as in Los Osos and San Luis Obispo.
*The track scenes in the 1982 film '' Personal Best'' were filmed at Morro Bay High School, with other filming throughout San Luis Obispo County.
*Night City, the main setting in the sci-fi role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
series Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...
, is set on the ruins of Morro Bay, which became a ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
after a massacre.
See also
* USCGC ''Morro Bay''
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Beaches of Southern California
Cities in San Luis Obispo County, California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated coastal places in California
Populated places established in 1870
Ports and harbors of California
1870 establishments in California