Point Arena, formerly known as Punta Arena (
Spanish for "Sandy Point")
is a small coastal city in
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...
, United States. Point Arena is located west of
Hopland,
at an elevation of .
The population was 460 at the 2020 census,
making it one of the smallest incorporated cities in the state.
Its main street is part of
State Route 1, California's coastal artery. Along with a number of other Mendocino County coastal communities, Point Arena was associated with the
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
and subsequent
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
groups. The economy is largely geared toward serving the summertime tourist industry. The city is near the headquarters of the tribal lands of the
Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester Rancheria and adjacent to the recently formed
Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands National Monument. Hiking trails with coastal prairie and ocean views can be accessed from Point Arena City Hall. At
Arena Cove Historic District and pier, huge oceanfront bluffs show the power of the interface of tectonic plates.
History
The first European to record Point Arena was Spaniard
Bartolomé Ferrer in 1543, who named it ''Cabo de Fortunas'' ("cape of fortunes"). The cape was renamed to ''Punta Delgado'' (narrow point) in 1775 by lieutenant
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (22 May 1743 – 26 March 1794) was a Hispano-Peruvian naval officer operating in the Americas. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in Viceroyalty of New Spain (present ...
(commander of the
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 ...
''Sonora''), part of a royal expedition chartered by the government of Mexico to map the north coast 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 ...
. Later the point, and the small harbor town south of it, were called ''Barra de Arena'' (i.e. sandbar) and finally ''Punta Arena'' (literally "sand point").
The Punta Arena post office opened in 1858, and was renamed Point Arena in 1889.
The first store at Point Arena opened in 1859.
Point Arena incorporated in 1908.
In 1886, Nellie Welch, an 11-year-old girl, was appointed lead operator and had full charge of the
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
office in Point Arena.
Operators like
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...
often hired women because they were cheaper labor than the men.
The Point Arena Cable Station is located in nearby Manchester. Built in 1956 by
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corporation, an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to busi ...
, the cable station serves as the eastern terminus of several
undersea cables, including the
Japan-US Cable Network and connections to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and Canada. In 2002, AT&T applied for a permit from the
EPA to connect an existing
fiber optic
An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...
conduit to the cable station, since further construction would cause incidental damage to the habitat of the endangered Point Arena
mountain beaver
The mountain beaver (''Aplodontia rufa'')Other names include boomer, mountain boomer, ground bear, giant mole, gehalis, sewellel, suwellel, showhurll, showtl, and showte, as well as a number of other Native American terms. "Mountain beaver" is a ...
.
Geography
The city of Point Arena is located in southwestern Mendocino County at .
Its
ZIP Code is 95468. 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 , all of it land.

The city is built around Arena Cove, a small natural harbor, and is about south of the actual Point Arena, a narrow peninsula jutting into 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 ...
. This is the location of the
Point Arena Light, at the tallest lighthouse on the west coast of the United States. The lighthouse is the closest location on the mainland (excluding
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
) to
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, Hawaii, at a distance of .
Via
California State Route 1
State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, ...
, Point Arena is south of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and north of
Anchor Bay.
Boonville is to the east across the
California Coast Ranges
The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...
via Mountain View Road, and
Ukiah, the Mendocino
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, is to the east.
Climate
Point Arena has cool, wet winters and mild, relatively dry summers. According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, it has a cool-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 ...
. The average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . The average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of only 0.3 days with highs of or higher and an average of 14.1 days with lows of or lower. The record high temperature was on August 12, 1947, and September 28, 1966. The record low temperature was on January 21, 1962.
Average annual precipitation is . There are an average of 83 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1976 with . The most precipitation in one month was . The most precipitation in 24 hours was on January 24, 1944.
Geology

The
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...
runs out to sea at Alder Creek near Manchester, about north of Point Arena. The
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...
was strongly felt at Point Arena and irreparably damaged the Point Arena Lighthouse, which was then torn down and rebuilt.
Ecology
A variety of fauna and flora occur in the Point Arena area which is a range demarcation for occurrence of some species. For example, the
California giant salamander occurs to the south while the
Pacific giant salamander occurs to the north. It is also the type locality for the Point Arena
mountain beaver
The mountain beaver (''Aplodontia rufa'')Other names include boomer, mountain boomer, ground bear, giant mole, gehalis, sewellel, suwellel, showhurll, showtl, and showte, as well as a number of other Native American terms. "Mountain beaver" is a ...
, ''Aplodontia rufa nigra'', which is federally listed under the
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
as endangered, and is considered a mammalian species of special concern by the State of California. According to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the habitat for this subspecies of mountain beaver lies only within a area around Point Arena. The biggest threat to the PAMB is loss of habitat, and it was officially listed as an
endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
on December 12, 1991. Much local folklore revolves around this mysterious creature.
The
Point Arena State Marine Reserve & Point Arena State Marine Conservation Area are two
marine protected area
A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...
s that extend offshore from Point Arena.
Sea Lion Cove State Marine Conservation Area and
Saunders Reef State Marine Conservation Area lie south of Point Arena. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Sound levels in Point Arena are relatively quiet, with many locations at night-time dominated by natural sounds, such as those of the surf. The firm of Earth Metrics Inc., who prepared the ''Noise Element of the Point Arena General Plan'', found that, even considering the presence of logging trucks on main city streets, composite sound levels rarely exceed 55 L
eq. The maximum acceptable sound level specified in that General Plan Element is 60
Leq for residential areas.
Demographics
2020
The
2020 United States census reported that Point Arena had a population of 460. The population density was . The racial makeup of Point Arena was 281 (61.1%)
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 ...
, 2 (0.4%)
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 ...
, 34 (7.4%)
Native American, 0 (0.0%)
Asian, 1 (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 ...
, 76 (16.5%) from
other races, and 66 (14.3%) from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 141 persons (30.7%).
The whole population lived in households. There were 196 households, out of which 55 (28.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 56 (28.6%) were married-couple households, 25 (12.8%) were
cohabiting couple households, 55 (28.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 60 (30.6%) had a male householder with no partner present. 77 households (39.3%) were one person, and 42 (21.4%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35.
[ There were 98 ]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 ...
(50.0% of all households).
The age distribution was 100 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 35 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 92 people (20.0%) aged 25 to 44, 129 people (28.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 104 people (22.6%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.3years. For every 100 females, there were 103.5 males.[
There were 225 housing units at an average density of , of which 196 (87.1%) were occupied. Of these, 83 (42.3%) were owner-occupied, and 113 (57.7%) were occupied by renters.][
]
2010
At the 2010 census Point Arena had a population of 449. The population density was . The racial makeup of Point Arena was 305 (67.9%) White, 2 (0.4%) African American, 1 (0.2%) Native American, 0 (0.0%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 118 (26.3%) from other races, and 23 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 150 people (33.4%).
The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.
There were 192 households, 57 (29.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 62 (32.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 25 (13.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 13 (6.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 20 (10.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (1.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 71 households (37.0%) were one person and 28 (14.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.34. There were 100 families (52.1% of households); the average family size was 3.08.
The age distribution was 112 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 31 people (6.9%) aged 18 to 24, 116 people (25.8%) aged 25 to 44, 132 people (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 58 people (12.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males.
There were 225 housing units at an average density of 166.7 per square mile, of the occupied units 87 (45.3%) were owner-occupied and 105 (54.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%. 189 people (42.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 260 people (57.9%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census, the median income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
for a household in the city was $27,083, and the median family income was $32,885. Males had a median income of $21,042 versus $15,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,591. About 24.1% of families and 26.0% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 36.0% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The city has three high schools: Point Arena High School, South Coast Continuation High School, and the Pacific Community Charter High School. Students are allowed to cross-enroll and take courses at both the Point Arena High and Charter High schools, granting Point Arena students access to a broad curriculum from which to choose. Several feeder schools bring students through grammar school before sending them to Point Arena High School or the Charter School, meaning that the schools draw from a large pool of students in southern Mendocino and northern Sonoma counties.
Government
Point Arena is governed by an elected five-member city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
which includes the mayor.
In the state legislature
A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of ...
, Point Arena is in , and .
Federally, Point Arena is in .
See also
* Point Arena Hot Springs
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated coastal places in California
Cities in Mendocino County, California