From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Unincorporated community in California, United States
Unincorporated area in California, United States
Surf
is an
unincorporated area
of
Santa Barbara County, California
,
[3]
located along the Pacific coast within a publicly accessible area of
Vandenberg Space Force Base
west of the city of
Lompoc
. The site originally was established as a railroad town, with its growth peaking after Vandenberg was established in 1941. Since 2000 the site has just consisted of
Surf Beach
and the unstaffed
Lompoc?Surf Amtrak Station
.
California State Route 246
used to run to Surf, but in 1984 the highway was truncated at Lompoc and the road from Lompoc to Surf is designated West Ocean Avenue.
Sections of Surf Beach are closed between March 1 and September 30 every year during the nesting season of the
western snowy plover
.
[2]
The affected areas may be opened earlier than September 30 if all the newly hatched birds reach their
fledgling stage
beforehand.
[4]
The closures are in place to protect the bird under the
Endangered Species Act
.
[5]
If a set number of trespass violations have been reached during any nesting season (currently 50), the beach is closed entirely.
[6]
[7]
History
[
edit
]
Surf grew as a
railway town
to accommodate the personnel needed to maintain the trains and tracks after
Southern Pacific Railroad
built a station here for its
Coast Line
in 1900.
[8]
In 1909, the schooner cargo ship
Sibyl Marston
sank off the coast south from Surf.
[9]
The station at Surf became popular with U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Camp Cooke (now
Vandenberg Space Force Base
) during
World War II
. The population of the town peaked at 40, with most residents being employed with the railroad. As trains modernized, Surf experienced depopulation, to the point where Southern Pacific was only operating a telegraph station.
[8]
The telegraph station closed in 1985, and it was not until 2000 that the current
Surf Amtrak Station
was completed. The unstaffed Amtrak station is currently the only structure left standing in Surf.
[10]
Two
fatal shark attacks
have occurred near Surf Beach: one on October 22, 2010, and the other on October 23, 2012.
[11]
Travel + Leisure
has listed it as one of the worst beaches for shark attacks.
[12]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Surf"
.
Geographic Names Information System
.
United States Geological Survey
,
United States Department of the Interior
.
- ^
a
b
Jacobson, Willis (September 24, 2019).
"Major changes at Lompoc's Surf Beach could include shift in plover counts, construction of boardwalk"
.
Santa Maria Times
. Retrieved
September 26,
2019
.
- ^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Surf, California
- ^
"Lompoc's Surf Beach fully reopen to public following plover restrictions"
.
Santa Maria Times
. October 1, 2021
. Retrieved
June 11,
2022
.
- ^
"Annual beach restrictions to begin at Surf Beach, Ocean Park"
.
KSBY
. February 26, 2022
. Retrieved
February 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Vandenberg Beaches to close for Annual Snowy Plover Nesting Season"
.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
. March 1, 2012. Archived from
the original
on November 4, 2013
. Retrieved
October 23,
2012
.
- ^
Connell, Sally Ann (June 16, 2002).
"It's Birds vs. Bathers on Remote Beach"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
May 8,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Wallace, Glenn (March 3, 2008).
"Train buff takes story of Surf across nation"
. Lompoc Record
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
Nisperos, Neil (January 29, 2008).
"Merchant steamer ship visible at Surf Beach"
. Lompoc Record
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Lompoc-Surf"
.
GreatAmericanStations.com
. Amtrak
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"
'Great White Serial Killer' probes Surf Beach deaths"
. Santa Maria Times. August 4, 2013
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Worst Beaches for Shark Attacks: Surf Beach"
. Travel + Leisure. August 2011
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.