Theme Week Los Angeles – Santa Catalina Island

Monday, 30 March 2015 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks
Reading Time:  5 minutes

Catalina Casino and Avalon Bay © flickr.com - Justin Ennis/cc-by-2.0

Catalina Casino and Avalon Bay © flickr.com – Justin Ennis/cc-by-2.0

Santa Catalina Island is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island is 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los Angeles. The highest point on the island is 2,097 feet (639 m) Mt. Orizaba. Santa Catalina is part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago and lies within Los Angeles County. The total population is at 4,100 people, 90 percent of whom live in the island’s only incorporated city, Avalon (named after Avalon from King Arthur). The second center of population is the unincorporated village of Two Harbors at the island’s isthmus. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements of Rancho Escondido and Middle Ranch. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two population centers.

Catalina claimed it for the Spanish Empire. Over the years, territorial claims to the island transferred to Mexico and then to the United States. During this time, the island was sporadically used for smuggling, otter hunting, and gold-digging, before successfully being developed into a tourist destination by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. beginning in the 1920s. Wrigley invested millions in needed infrastructure and attractions to the island, including the construction of the Catalina Casino which opened on May 29, 1929. Wrigley also sought to bring publicity to the island through events and spectacles. Starting in 1921, the Chicago Cubs, also owned by Wrigley, used the island for the team’s spring training. Since the 1970s, most of the island has been administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy.

Little Harbor on the backside of Santa Catalina Island © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0 Two Harbors - Isthmus Cove on the left, Catalina Harbor on the right © Weedwhacker128/cc-by-sa-3.0 Avalon © Spartan7W/cc-by-sa-3.0 Santa Catalina Island, is owned and maintained by the Catalina Island Conservancy © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0 Santa Catalina Island Ferry connection © RosarioVanTulpe/cc-by-sa-3.0 Catalina Casino and Avalon Bay © flickr.com - Justin Ennis/cc-by-2.0
<
>
Santa Catalina Island, is owned and maintained by the Catalina Island Conservancy © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0
Close to one million people travel to Catalina Island every year, though the total numbers in any given year varies depending on economic conditions. Glass bottom boats tour the reefs and shipwrecks of the area, and scuba diving and snorkeling are popular in the clear water. Lover’s Cove, to the east of town, and Descanso Beach, to the west of the Casino, are popular places to dive. The Avalon Underwater Dive Park was the first non-profit underwater park in the United States. The area is famous for the schools of flying fish and the bright orange Garibaldi which teem in local waters. Parasailing is also offered. Bus tours are given of the interior. While tourists rarely have an opportunity to surf, two beaches on the “backside” of Catalina offer good waves: Shark Harbor and Ben Weston Beach. There is also a place called Camp Emerald Bay on the north end of the island that offers summer camps for children and Boy Scouts. Two Harbors is the second, and much smaller, resort village on the island. Located at the isthmus of the island, north of Avalon, it is the primary landing spot for those who wish to tour the western half of the island. It is accessible by boat from San Pedro and by bus or boat from Avalon.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Santa Catalina Island, Santa Catalina Island Tourism, Catalina Island Guide, Catalina Island Conservancy and Wikipedia Santa Catalina Island. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg

[caption id="attachment_207627" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Tony Webster/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten is a luxury hotel located on the Neuer Jungfernstieg in Hamburg, Ge...

[ read more ]

Cathedral of Rum in Cataño

Cathedral of Rum in Cataño

[caption id="attachment_238056" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Cathedral of Rum © panoramio.com - Jose L. Dominguez/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Cathedral of Rum in Cataño, Puerto Rico, is the world's largest rum...

[ read more ]

Cape Town on the shore of Table Bay

Cape Town on the shore of Table Bay

[caption id="attachment_28235" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Greater Cape Town © Andrew Massyn[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Cape Town is a city in South Africa. It ranks third among the most populous urban areas in South Africa, afte...

[ read more ]

Viva con Agua de St. Pauli

Viva con Agua de St. Pauli

[caption id="attachment_25435" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © vivaconagua.org[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli is a charity founded in 2005 in the Hamburg quarter of St. Pauli. The aim of the organization is...

[ read more ]

The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys

[caption id="attachment_151305" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Fort Jefferson - Dry Tortugas © U.S. National Park Service[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Florida Keys are an archipelago of 4500 islands in the southeast United States....

[ read more ]

Dunrobin Castle in the Scottish Highlands

Dunrobin Castle in the Scottish Highlands

[caption id="attachment_247673" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Dunrobin Castle and Gardens © geograph.org.uk - Andrew Tryon/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Dunrobin Castle (mostly 1835–1845 — present) is a stately home i...

[ read more ]

The European Union: Europe Day

The European Union: Europe Day

[caption id="attachment_227406" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Europe Day 2009 in Strasbourg © flickr.com - Francois Schnell/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Europe Day is a day celebrating "peace and unity in Europe" celebrated...

[ read more ]

Mickey's Diner in Saint Paul

Mickey's Diner in Saint Paul

[caption id="attachment_205392" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Tenzin Dongag/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Mickey's Diner is a classic diner in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. It has been in continuous operation at the s...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Asturias

Theme Week Asturias

[caption id="attachment_217299" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Gijon © Labé/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive...

[ read more ]

Chinatown in New York

Chinatown in New York

[caption id="attachment_171407" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © chensiyuan/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Manhattan's Chinatown is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east...

[ read more ]

Die Stadt Wyborg in der historischen Region Karelien

Die Stadt Wyborg in der historischen Region Karelien

[caption id="attachment_154140" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Embankment © Sergey Galchenkov[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, 130 ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Honduras - La Ceiba

Theme Week Honduras - La Ceiba

[caption id="attachment_220591" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Anarqista/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]La Ceiba is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida and a port city on the northern coas...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top