ZIP Code 95039

Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of 10 feet (3.048 m) It is at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough and at the head of the submarine Monterey Canyon. In the early 1860s Charles Moss, a Texas ship captain, established a landing and wharf to handle the emerging grain trade in the Salinas Valley. The location was initially named "Moss", after Charles Moss. It became a busy whaling and fishing port and a location for fish processing plants and canneries. The Moss Landing Power Plant opened in 1950. The California State University system founded Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in 1966 (it was rebuilt nearby after the Loma Prieta Earthquake destroyed the facility in 1989) In the mid-1990s the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute was moved to Moss Landing from Pacific Grove. Moss Landing has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. The 2010 U.S. Census reported that Moss Landing had a population of 204. The population density was 338.3 inhabitants per square mile (4.6kmkm) The racial makeup of Moss Landing was 149 (0.0%) African American, 1 (0%) Native American, 2 (1) Asian, 10%) Pacific Islander, 30 (147%) from other races, and 14 (6%) from two or more races or more.

History

The earliest residents of the Moss Landing/Elkhorn Slough area were the Ohlone people. Charles Moss, a Texas ship captain, established with the help of a partner a landing and wharf to handle the emerging grain trade in the Salinas Valley. William B. Post opened one of the first grain warehouses along the coast at Moss Landing. The location was initially named "Moss", after Charles Moss. The California State University system founded Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in 1966. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute was moved to Moss Landing from Pacific Grove in the mid-1990s. In the 1980s, then-Monterey County Supervisor Marc Del Piero secured millions of dollars in federal grants to cure historic and chronic water pollution issues and sanitary sewers were installed. The Moss Landing Harbor District, established in the 1940s, dredged channels and built piers. It became a busy whaling and fishing port and a location for fish processing plants and canneries. It was rebuilt nearby after the Loma Prieta Earthquake destroyed the facility in 1989. It is now home to the California Institute of Marine Sciences, which was founded in 1966 and is located on the same site as the original Moss Landing wharf. It has a population of about 2,000 people, making it the second largest city in Monterey County, after Salinas. The town of Castroville, one of Monterey's first municipalities, served to support Moss Landing commerce. The city is home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Monterey Peninsula Museum and the California Maritime Museum.

Geography

Moss Landing is located in northern Monterey County, where Elkhorn Slough becomes an estuary as it flows into Monterey Bay at the head of the Monterey Submarine Canyon. California State Route 1 follows the eastern edge of the community, leading north 8 miles (13 km) to Watsonville and southwest 18 miles (29km) to Monterey. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. The Köppen Climate Classification system, Moss Landing has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. The CDP is located on the California coast, near the town of Monterey, which is in the eastern part of the Bay Area. The town has a population of 1,000, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates its population will rise to 2,000 by the end of the year. It is located at an elevation of 2,500 feet (7,000 meters) above sea level. The community has a latitude and longitude of 7,000 feet (2,200 meters) and a longitude, 7,200 feet (1,400 meters) to the sea. It has a climate that is warm but dry, with an average monthly temperature of 71.5 °F (4.7 °C).

Demographics

The 2010 U.S. Census reported that Moss Landing had a population of 204. The racial makeup of the CDP was 149 (73.0%) White, 7 (3.4%) African American, 1 (0.5%) Native American, 2 (1.0) Asian, and 30 (14.7%) from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.3% of the population. There were 108 housing units at an average density of 179.1 per square mile (69.2/km²), of which 55 were owner-occupied, and 45 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy ratewas 8.2%. 118 people (57.8% of. the population) lived in owner- occupied housing units and 86 people (42.2%) lived in rental housing units. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.09. The median income for a household was $66,731, and the median family income was $28,005. About 38% of those under the age of 18 and none of those over 65 were living below the poverty line, including none of the families under 18 and 13.0% who were 65 or older. The CDP is located in the northern part of the town of Lompoc, which is located on the California coast. It is the only town in the county that is not on the National Register of Historic Places.

Economy

The Moss Landing Power Plant is a natural gas plant and the largest battery storage facility in the world. Located at the intersection of State Route 1 and Dolan Road, it produces 2,538 megawatts, and is wholly owned by Dynegy. The plant could only power the state of California for about two minutes. Three fires have occurred in the last several years, causing a shutdown of the plant and emission of toxic air pollutants from the burning lithium ion batteries. There is a commercial park adjacent to the power plant, housing manufacturers and laboratories. Also located here is the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a sister organization to the Mont California Aquarium.Tourism is a large part of the economy in Moss Landing. The town is home to the California State University, Monterey, which is a member of the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, San Francisco. The city is also home to a number of private businesses, including a winery, an aquarium, and a marine research facility. It is located on the shores of the Salinas River, which flows into the San Luis Obispo Bay, and the San Francisco Bay, which runs into the Santa Cruz Bay. It has a population of about 3,000 people, with the majority of its residents living in or around the town of Moss Landing and its surrounding areas. It also has a large number of small businesses, many of which are based in and around the city of Monterey and the nearby towns of Salinas and Monterey.

Arts and culture

Moss Landing lies in the northern part of Monterey County and has numerous restaurants, galleries, a bed and breakfast, and is the home port to many fishing and pleasure boats. Moss Landing Harbor District berths over 600 boats, including 350 fishing boats, 200 pleasure craft, 30 research vessels, and a half dozen tour and charter boats. The harbor's commercial boats land dungeness crab, halibut, king salmon, albacore, rockfish, sablefish, anchovies, sardines, squid, black cod, red snapper, covina, prawns, mackerel, and others. Several maritime businesses support harbor users including a fuel dock. Moss landing is most noted as the gateway to Elkhorn Slough, one of the largest wetlands in the state. There are over 350 species of bird that migrate through the area annually. It is also known as one the best spots in the world to see sea otters. The Shakespeare Society of America is based in Moss Landing. The town is home to the Monterey Shakespeare Festival, which runs through the end of the year. It also has its own version of the San Francisco Giants football team, the San Franciso Giants, which plays in the World Series of Frighteners. The city is also home to a number of museums, including the California Museum of Natural History, the California History Museum, and the California State Museum of Art and Science, which hosts the California Shakespeare Festival.

Parks and nature reserves

Moss Landing provides access to state and federal protected lands. Moss Landing State Beach, Salinas River State Beach and Zmudowski State Beach are among the beaches available. The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is also nearby. The Moss Landing Wildlife Area is home to a variety of species of birds and bats. The area is also home to an array of endangered species, including sea otters, birds of prey, and sea lions.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Moss Landing, Monterey County, California = 97. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 30. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 71. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Moss Landing = 5.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 1,356 individuals with a median age of 39.4 age the population dropped by -0.67% in Moss Landing, Monterey County, California population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 604.6 residents per square mile of area (233.4/km²). There are average 2.33 people per household in the 128 households with an average household income of $72,673 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.60% of the available work force and has dropped -3.55% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.30%. The number of physicians in Moss Landing per 100,000 population = 173.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Moss Landing = 22.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 60. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 265. 71 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 38.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 79, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Moss Landing, Monterey County, California which are owned by the occupant = 42.55%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 53 years with median home cost = $282,640 and home appreciation of -8.28%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $6.03 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,520 per student. There are 22.3 students for each teacher in the school. 10235.66% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 7.08% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 23.11% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).