Shelter Cove, California

History

The area around Shelter Cove was originally home to Native Americans known as the Sinkyone people.

Near Shelter Cove on July 21, 1907, the coastal passenger steamer Columbia collided with the steam schooner San Pedro amidst dense fog. The Columbia subsequently sank, killing 88 people. Although badly damaged, San Pedro stayed afloat and helped to rescue ''Columbia'''s survivors.

Because of the very steep terrain on the coastal areas surrounding Shelter Cove, the highway builders constructing State Route 1 (the "Shoreline Highway") decided it was too difficult to build the coastal highway along a long stretch of what is now known as the Lost Coast. As a result, the small fishing village of Shelter Cove remained secluded from the rest of the state, despite being only 230 mi north of San Francisco, and is accessible by boat, by paved mountain road, or by the small Shelter Cove Airport.

As a result of its seclusion, the Shelter Cove area has become popular for those seeking a quiet vacation respite or retirement area. Popular activities include fishing, whale watching, hiking, diving for abalone, and other outdoor activities.

The Cape Mendocino Light, a lighthouse from Cape Mendocino, was moved by helicopter to Mal Coombs Park in 1998. A post office operated at Shelter Cove from 1892 to 1933, moving in 1898.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Shelter Cove first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Shelter Cove had a population of 803. The population density was 137.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Shelter Cove was 636 (79.2%) White, 4 (0.5%) African American, 19 (2.4%) Native American, 10 (1.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 28 (3.5%) from other races, and 106 (13.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 77 persons (9.6%).

The census reported that 793 people (98.8% of the population) lived in households, 10 (1.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 406 households, out of which 63 (15.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 142 (35.0%) were married-couple households, 45 (11.1%) were cohabiting couple households, 102 (25.1%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 117 (28.8%) had a male householder with no partner present. 162 households (39.9%) were one person, and 59 (14.5%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.95.

The age distribution was 112 people (13.9%) under the age of 18, 43 people (5.4%) aged 18 to 24, 203 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 235 people (29.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 210 people (26.2%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 48.8years. For every 100 females, there were 119.4 males.

There were 665 housing units at an average density of 114.1 /mi2, of which 406 (61.1%) were occupied. Of these, 308 (75.9%) were owner-occupied, and 98 (24.1%) were occupied by renters.

Politics

In the state legislature, Shelter Cove is in , and .

Federally, Shelter Cove is in .

Climate

Shelter Cove has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) typical of the North Coast, that is characterized by warm (but not hot), dry summers, and mild to chilly, rainy winters. Shelter Cove's climate is moderated by the proximity to the Pacific Ocean, with small temperature variations on average throughout the year, which result in mild year-round temperatures, although some winter months can get cool at times. Average high temperatures range from 58 F in January to 70 F in September. Shelter Cove on average has wet winters and dry summers, also representative of the region. Temperatures above 32 C are rare, happening on average 1–2 times per season, but temperatures approaching 34 C or above have been measured over such a wide time period as from April to October. For being a coastal community north of the San Francisco Bay Area, Shelter Cove has mild winter temperatures and warm summers.

| Jan record high F = 74 | Feb record high F = 83 | Mar record high F = 76 | Apr record high F = 83 | May record high F = 88 | Jun record high F = 96 | Jul record high F = 88 | Aug record high F = 85 | Sep record high F = 90 | Oct record high F = 86 | Nov record high F = 83 | Dec record high F = 78 | year record high F = 96 | Jan record low F = 31 | Feb record low F = 34 | Mar record low F = 31 | Apr record low F = 38 | May record low F = 42 | Jun record low F = 44 | Jul record low F = 36 | Aug record low F = 43 | Sep record low F = 42 | Oct record low F = 40 | Nov record low F = 35 | Dec record low F = 27 | year record low F = 27

References

References

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3. {{gnis. 2611448
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