Crescent City, California
Crescent City | |
|---|---|
Crescent City harbor | |
Location in Del Norte County and the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 41°45′22″N 124°12′06″W / 41.75611°N 124.20167°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Del Norte |
| Incorporated | April 13, 1854 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor/Council |
| • Mayor | Ray Altman |
| • State senator | Mike McGuire (D) |
| • Assemblymember | Chris Rogers (D) |
| • U. S. rep. | Jared Huffman (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.42 sq mi (6.25 km2) |
| • Land | 1.96 sq mi (5.09 km2) |
| • Water | 0.45 sq mi (1.17 km2) 18.7% |
| Elevation | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 6,673 |
| • Density | 3,398.7/sq mi (1,312.26/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes | 95531, 95532, 95538 |
| Area code | 707 |
| FIPS code | 06-17022 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 277494, 2410262 |
| Website | crescentcity.org |
Crescent City (Tolowa: Taa-’at-dvn; Yurok: Kohpey; Wiyot: Daluwagh) is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California, of which it is also the county seat. The city is on the North Coast of California and had a total population of 6,673 in the 2020 census, down from 7,643 in the 2010 census.
The city is the site of the Redwood National Park headquarters, as well as the historic Battery Point Light. Due to the richness of the local Pacific Ocean waters and the related catch, and ease of access, Crescent City Harbor serves as home port for numerous commercial fishing vessels. The population includes inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison, also within the city limits, and the former census-designated place Crescent City North annexed to the city.
Crescent City's offshore geography makes it unusually susceptible to tsunamis. In 1964 much of the city was destroyed by four tsunami waves generated by the Great Alaskan earthquake off Anchorage, Alaska. In 2011 the city's harbor suffered extensive damage and destruction from tsunamis generated by the March 11, 2011, earthquake off Sendai, Japan. Several dozen vessels and many of the docks they were moored to were destroyed as wave cycles related to the tsunamis exceeded 8 ft (2.4 m).