Steamer Lane
Encyclopedia
Steamer Lane is a famous surfing
location in Santa Cruz, California
. It is just off a point on the side of cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz, providing easy access and a good vantage point for viewing. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
is housed in a lighthouse there. "Steamer Lane" is the preferred form of the name used by the people surfing there. The name may have originated by reference to steamships
. It was at Steamer Lane that the modern surfing wetsuit
and the leash were mainly developed by Jack O'Neill, who had his surf shop nearby for many years and lost his eye at Steamer Lane.
period marine deposits, part of the Purisima formation. The rock underneath the lane is Santa Cruz mudstone from the Miocene
era. Steamer Lane is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
.
There are four parts to Steamer Lane: Indicators, Middle Peak, The Slot, and The Point. Third Reef is an expert surfing zone just beyond the Lane and closely related.
Looking down coast to the east you can see Soquel Point, also known as Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California
.
. Home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum at Steamer Lane, which continues to be staffed by docents from the Santa Cruz Surfing Club who have surfed Santa Cruz waves since the 1930s, Santa Cruz hosts several surf contests drawing international participants each year, including the O'Neill Cold Water Classic, the International Longboard Association contest, and many others. Santa Cruz is well-known for watersports such as sailing, diving, swimming, paddling, and surfing. However, Steamer Lane has also seen animosity between local surfers and surf kayakers as the two groups seek to share waves.
It is the home of O'Neill Wetsuits and Santa Cruz Surfboards.
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
location in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. It is just off a point on the side of cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz, providing easy access and a good vantage point for viewing. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is a museum which was established in May 1986 to document the history of surfing. With collections dating back to the earliest years of surfing on mainland United States, the museum houses a historical account of surfing in Santa Cruz, California.-Location:Located in...
is housed in a lighthouse there. "Steamer Lane" is the preferred form of the name used by the people surfing there. The name may have originated by reference to steamships
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
. It was at Steamer Lane that the modern surfing wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...
and the leash were mainly developed by Jack O'Neill, who had his surf shop nearby for many years and lost his eye at Steamer Lane.
Geography
The cliffs overlooking Steamer Lane are composed of QuaternaryQuaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period marine deposits, part of the Purisima formation. The rock underneath the lane is Santa Cruz mudstone from the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
era. Steamer Lane is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a US Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast around Monterey Bay....
.
There are four parts to Steamer Lane: Indicators, Middle Peak, The Slot, and The Point. Third Reef is an expert surfing zone just beyond the Lane and closely related.
Looking down coast to the east you can see Soquel Point, also known as Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California
Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California
Two more spots surfed in the early '70's are "Little Wind & Sea" and "26th avenue". Both are just north of "Sewers" and "First Peak" at 26th Avenue....
.
Santa Cruz and surfing
Santa Cruz has 11 surf breaks, including the point breaks over rock bottoms near Steamer Lane and Pleasure PointPleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California
Two more spots surfed in the early '70's are "Little Wind & Sea" and "26th avenue". Both are just north of "Sewers" and "First Peak" at 26th Avenue....
. Home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum at Steamer Lane, which continues to be staffed by docents from the Santa Cruz Surfing Club who have surfed Santa Cruz waves since the 1930s, Santa Cruz hosts several surf contests drawing international participants each year, including the O'Neill Cold Water Classic, the International Longboard Association contest, and many others. Santa Cruz is well-known for watersports such as sailing, diving, swimming, paddling, and surfing. However, Steamer Lane has also seen animosity between local surfers and surf kayakers as the two groups seek to share waves.
It is the home of O'Neill Wetsuits and Santa Cruz Surfboards.
External links
- Steamer Lane on BlooSeeBlooseeBlooSee is a social network and an ocean web mapping site where sailors, divers, surfers and other sea lovers geotag and share information and knowledge about the oceans. BlooSee is built in Python and uses the Google Maps API.BlooSee is owned by BlooSee, Inc...
(satellite view and surfing spots) - Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
- View of Steamer Lane via webcam
- Aerial Views of Steamer Lane
- Photos and essays
- Tribal Surf - an online community for California surfers