Bodega Harbor
Encyclopedia
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
on the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast of northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, approximately 40 mi (64 km) northwest of San Francisco. The harbor is approximately 2 square miles (5 square km) in area.
The harbor is in Sonoma County
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
at 38°19′25"N 123°02′52"W, on the eastern side of Bodega Head
Bodega Head
Bodega Head is a small promontory on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States. It is located in Sonoma County at , approximately 40 mi northwest of San Francisco and approximately 20 mi west of Santa Rosa....
and is protected from the main part of Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
to the south by a narrow sandy spit of land. The village of Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay, California
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
sits along the eastern side of the harbor. Geologically
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
the harbor is formed by a depression of the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
.
Southwest of Bodega Harbor is the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
's Bodega Marine Lab on Horseshoe Cove. Bodega Harbor is a good location for access to Cordell Bank, Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay is a long narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately 15 miles long and averages nearly 1.0 miles wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Marin County. It is located...
, and the Farallon Islands
Farallon Islands
The Farallon Islands, or Farallones , are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA. They lie outside the Golden Gate and south of Point Reyes, and are visible from the mainland on clear days...
. The University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
maintains a marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
study in the mud flats along the southwestern corner of the harbor. Bodega Harbor is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy
California Bays and Estuaries Policy
The Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California is published by the California State Water Resources Control Board as guidelines to prevent water quality degradation. The policy is revised as needed.-Geography:...
.
History
Campbell Cove near the entrance of the harbor from Bodega Bay is sometimes mentioned as a possible landing site of Francis DrakeFrancis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
on the coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1579. The site is not, however, considered to a be likely candidate by most historians. See: Drakes Estero
Drakes Estero
Drakes Estero is an expansive estuary in Marin County on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately northwest of San Francisco.Located at , the estuary provides the main drainage for the Point Reyes peninsula...
, Bolinas Lagoon
Bolinas Lagoon
Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal estuary, approximately in area, located at in the West Marin region of Marin County, California, United States. It is a part of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. The lagoon is a back bay of Bolinas Bay on the Pacific coast approximately 15 mi ...
The harbor was used from 1811 to the 1840s by Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
rs, part of the Russian Ross Colony, or Fort Ross. The harbor and the town were the primary location used by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
for his 1962 movie The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
. Several scenes were shot using watercraft on the harbor.