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'{{Short description|Coastal portion of the U.S. state of California}} [[Image:Coastal California Map.svg|thumb|250px|Map of counties commonly seen as constituting coastal California]] '''Coastal California''', also known as the '''California Coastline''' and the '''Golden Coast''', refers to the coastal regions of the U.S. state of [[California]]. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic and political attributes. ==Geography== {{See also|North Coast (California)|Central Coast (California)|South Coast (California)}} [[File:Three Arch Bay Photo Taken by pilot Don Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|350px|The [[Three Arch Bay]] gated community along the coastline of [[Laguna Beach, California|Laguna Beach]], Orange County]] The area includes the North Coast, [[San Francisco Bay Area]], Central Coast, and South Coast. The coastline is slowly eroding due to natural processes accelerated by climate change, though much more slowly in other places in the United States. In the last 100 years, the water line has risen less than {{cvt|6|in}} along the coast of California. In the next 100 years, the water is expected to surge as much as {{cvt|9|ft}}, bringing into question the fate of the many million dollar homes settled right on the edge of the sea.{{r|LAT Sea Level Rise}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/11/santa-cruz-sinking-climate-change-beaches-surfing|title=Sinking Santa Cruz: climate change threatens famed California beach town|last=Milman|first=Oliver|date=October 11, 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-02-04}}</ref> ===Climate=== Coastal California is heavily influenced by east–west distances to the dominant cold [[California Current]] as well as [[microclimates]]. Due to hills and coast ranges having strong meteorological effects, summer and winter temperatures (other than occasional heat waves) are heavily moderated by ocean currents and fog with strong [[seasonal lag]]s compared to interior valleys as little as {{cvt|10|mi}} away. [[Point Conception]] tends to divide the Coastal region by mid-summer into warmer (south and east) and cooler zones (north). Peak and often intense heat [https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/warmest-day-of-the-year tends to arrive in September much later] than the rest of the nation or state. Over time, [[Droughts in California|droughts]] and [[List of California wildfires|wildfires]] have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's [[water security]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.drought.gov |title= |website=www.drought.gov |access-date=November 20, 2021}}{{title missing|date=May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Boxall |first1=Bettina |last2=St. John |first2=Paige |date=November 10, 2018 |title=California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-camp-fire-science-20181110-story.html |access-date=November 11, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation |url=https://www.drought.gov/drought/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111042024/https://www.drought.gov/drought/ |archive-date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=November 11, 2018 |publisher=National Integrated Drought Information System}}</ref> ===Counties=== [[File:Surfers south of Gaviota, California.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Refugio State Beach]] near [[Gaviota, California|Gaviota]], Santa Barbara County]] [[File:Monterey Bay Seascape.jpg|thumb|350px|Monterey Bay shoreline, [[Pacific Grove, California|Pacific Grove]], Monterey County ]] [[File:Ocean Beach San Francisco aerial view.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Ocean Beach, San Francisco|Ocean Beach]], San Francisco]] The counties commonly seen as constituting coastal California are: ;[[South Coast (California)|South Coast]] *[[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]] *[[Orange County, California|Orange]] *[[San Diego County, California|San Diego]] ;[[Central Coast (California)|Central Coast]] *[[Monterey County, California|Monterey]] *[[San Benito County, California|San Benito]] *[[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo]] *[[Santa Barbara County, California|Santa Barbara]] *[[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]] *[[Ventura County, California|Ventura]] ;[[San Francisco Bay Area]] *[[Alameda County, California|Alameda]] *[[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]] *[[Marin County, California|Marin]] *[[Napa County, California|Napa]] *[[San Francisco]] *[[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]] *[[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]] *[[Solano County, California|Solano]] *[[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]] ;[[North Coast (California)|North Coast]] *[[Del Norte County, California|Del Norte]] *[[Humboldt County, California|Humboldt]] *[[Mendocino County, California|Mendocino]] ==Demographics== During the 2000 Census, roughly a third of households had [[Household income in the United States|incomes]] exceeding $75,000, compared to 17.6% in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]]<ref name="Stanford University, income in California">{{cite web|url=http://ccsre.stanford.edu/reports/report_13.pdf|title=Stanford University, income in California|access-date=2007-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614114537/http://ccsre.stanford.edu/reports/report_13.pdf|archive-date=2007-06-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 22.5% at the national average.<ref name="US Census Bureau, US household income">{{cite web|url=http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032000/hhinc/new04_001.htm|title=US Census Bureau, US household income|access-date=2007-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621142224/http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032000/hhinc/new04_001.htm|archive-date=2007-06-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the area has always been relatively expensive, when compared to inland regions and the national average, the recent{{when|date=July 2017}} real estate boom has left it as the most expensive housing market in the nation. An October 2004 CNN Money publication found that a {{convert|2200|sqft|m2|adj=on}} home in a "middle management neighborhood" would cost an average of $1.8&nbsp;million.<ref name="CNN Money, housing markets">{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/real_estate/best_worst/5.html|title=CNN Money, housing markets|access-date=2007-05-28}}</ref> ==See also== *[[California Coast Ranges]] *[[California Coastal Records Project]] low altitude photographs of the entire coast *[[California State Route 1]] *[[California's congressional districts]] *[[Greater Los Angeles Area]] *[[Left Coast]] ==References== {{reflist|refs= <ref name="LAT Sea Level Rise">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-sea-level-rise-california-coast/|title=The California coast is disappearing under the rising sea. Our choices are grim|first=Rosanna |last=Xia|date=July 7, 2019|access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref> }} == External links == {{Commons category-inline|California Coast}} *[http://geology.about.com/od/geology_ca/ig/CAcoast/introsfgate.htm Geology of the California Coast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102458/http://geology.about.com/od/geology_ca/ig/CAcoast/introsfgate.htm |date=2016-03-04 }} by geologist [http://geology.about.com/bio/Andrew-Alden-453.htm Andrew Alden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110203731/http://geology.about.com/bio/Andrew-Alden-453.htm |date=2016-11-10 }} {{California}} [[Category:Regions of California]] [[Category:West Coast of the United States|California]]'