- Rockaway Beach, California
Rockaway Beach is a shoreline area of the
Pacific Ocean in the southern portion ofPacifica, California approximately seven miles south of the city ofSan Francisco . The beach is noted for itsscenic vista, easy access to Highway 1, and restaurant and shopping venues. Rockaway beach is located within a gently curvingembayment with direct access via Rockaway Beach Avenue.History
There are no known prehistoric remains in Rockaway Beach itself; however, the site of the
Ohlone Native American village site of Timigtac [State of California archaeological site CA-SMd-162] is located about a half mile away on Calera Creek, immediately to the east of Rockaway Beach by State Route 1.The Rockaway beach area has played a role in local history since the arrival of the Portola Expedition, the Spanish
explorer s credited with discovery of theSan Francisco Bay . As early as 1776limestone was quarried in the Rockaway Beach lime pits for use towhitewash the newly built thePresidio of San Francisco . More recent investigations suggest that early settlements inSan Pedro Valley also used this limestone for their foundations. In 1907 the Rockaway Beach quarry was established as a continuously operating commercial entity known as the Stone Brothers. After construction of theOcean Shore Railroad in 1907, limestone from this quarry was conveyed to assist rebuilding ofSan Francisco after the1906 San Francisco earthquake . Quarry materials were actually used as ballast for thetrackbed of the railroad; moreover, after completion of the railroad, Rockaway Beach was considered a suburb ofSan Francisco due to convenient access. This all changed after legal problems arising fromlandslide repair bankrupted the railroad in 1921.Highway 1 was completed from
Montara to Rockaway Beach in 1938, reopening the local area again to easy northern access. Horace Hill operated the quarry from the early 1940s to 1953, along with a profitable sand dredging business on the quarry's backside.Ideal Cement took over the quarry operation at that time and owned it until 1971. Later operators wereRhodes and Jamison andQuarry Products .Natural Features
The coastal bluffs have verticality as steep as 60 percent, while some of the quarry sufaces are totally sheer. The limstone beds within the quarry are hard and fresh with close to widely spaced fractures. Some of these beds are underlain by
greenstone , an alteredvolcanic rock that becomes less weathered with depth. The eastern portion of the quarry area is underlain byalluvial terrace deposits. The beachlittoral zone is underlain byHolocene age beach sand, and the upper sands vary in depth by season, depending on the surf scouring of beach sands in the winter and the gradual rebuilding of sands in the summer.The beach and headlands are comprised mostly of
California coastal prairie andNorthern coastal scrub , while the riparian area of Calera Creek presents the most important upland habitat of the area. Although the beach and headlands area are the least disturbed natural areas of the Rockaway Beach area, they are used moderately as recreation spots. Vegetation is sparse on the beach with occurrences of Succulentsea fig ,Hottentot fig andFat hen in the sandy areas. Further in from the beach are foundCalifornia poppies ,Sand verbena andBush lupine s. The nearlittoral elevation gradually increases toward the north until it reaches a headland peak of 175 feet.Habitat on the headland east facing slope is
Northern coastal scrub boasts considerable Prostratecoyote brush ,Bush monkey flower and further colonies ofBush lupine . A gamut of coastalwildflower s inhabit the headland slopes; besidesCalifornia poppy are foundGoldenaster s,Douglas Iris and many otherspecies . The steep bluff faces host plants that are tolerant of wind and sea salt mist, includingSilver beachweed ,Sea rocket s and extensive patches ofYarrow .North of the developed area of Rockaway Beach is a hidden
quarry , whose habitat is severely disturbed.Rip-rap boulders protect the developed area from marineerosion . Near Calera creek there is aquatic vegetation including rushes,bullrush es,horsetail ,fat hen andplantain . This quarry area hosts a surprising number ofamphibian s,reptiles , smallmammal s and a variety of birdlife. Avafauna sighted here includeheron s,egret s,California Least Tern s as well asred-winged blackbird . The headland cliffs within the quarry provide nesting sites forbank swallow s,pelagic cormorant s andBrandt's cormorant s. Threeendangered species are found proximate to Rockaway Beach: theSan Francisco garter snake , theSan Bruno elfin butterfly , and theRed-legged Frog . These last two are found within the quarry property, theRed-legged Frog is a critical food source for theSan Francisco Garter Snake which is known to exist on the Mori Point National Park property immediately adjacent to the north.Developed area
Hugging the coast at the center of Rockaway Beach is a cluster of restaurants and shops, the oldest of which is a Pacifica landmark, Nick's Seafood Restaurant. Another restaurant, historically the romantic Moonraker, now Ristorante Portofino, holds nighttime views over the illuminated waves of the Pacific crashing at the restaurant foundation bulwarks. Newer shops nestle behind the Moonraker, many a product of the redevelopment plan developed by the city in 1986.
Bibliography
* Curtis Alling, Phyllis Potter, et al., "
Environmental Impact Report for the West Rockaway BeachRedevelopment Plan", prepared for City of Pacifica by Earth Metrics Inc.,Burlingame , California, March, 1986* "General Plan", city of Pacifica (1980)
* "Pacifica Quarry
Reclamation Plan", Martin Carpenter Associates (1983)* Phyllis M. Faber, "Common
Wetland Plants of Coastal California"* "Geoloogic Map of Unconsolidated and Moderately Consolidated Deposits of San Mateo County, California",
U.S. Geological Survey , Field Studies Map MF-575 (1974)References
External links
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.622685,-122.485507&spn=0.11,0.18&t=h Rockaway Beach Aerial Photo by Google Maps]
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