Seal Beach: Seal Beach is a city in Orange County, California. As of 2000, its population was 24,157. The city was incorporated on 25 October 1915.


Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest, just across the border with Los Angeles County, lies the city of Long Beach and the adjacent San Pedro Bay. To the southeast are Huntington Harbour, a neighborhood of Huntington Beach, and the unincorporated community of Sunset Beach. To the east lie the city of Westminster and the neighborhood of West Garden Grove, part of the city of Garden Grove. To the north lie the unincorporated community of Rossmoor and the city of Los Alamitos.


Early on, the area that is now Seal Beach was known as "Anaheim Landing", as the boat landing and seaside recreation area named after the nearby town of Anaheim.


By the 20th century, it was known as Bay City, but there was already a Bay City located in Northern California. When the time came to incorporate on 25 October 1915, the town was named Seal Beach. The town became a popular recreation destination in the area, and featured a beach-side amusement park long before Disneyland was founded inland.


The United States Navy's Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach was originally constructed during World War II for loading, unloading, and storing of ammunition for the Pacific Fleet, and especially those US Navy warships home-ported in Long Beach and San Diego, California. With closure of the Concord Naval Weapons Station in Northern California, it has become the primary source of munitions for a majority of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.


Seal Beach encompasses the Leisure World retirement gated community with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned retirement community of its type in the U.S. The small gated community of Surfside Colony southwest of the Weapons Station is also part of Seal Beach.


The main body of Seal Beach consists of many neighborhoods.
-Old Town is the area on the ocean side of California State Route 1(PCH).
-"The Hill" is the neighborhood on the north side of PCH that borders end at Gum Grove Park.
-College Park West is a small neighborhood bordering Long Beach. Its streets are named after colleges.
-College Park East is another small neighborhood bordering Garden Grove. Its streets are named after plants.


On Electric Avenue where the railroad tracks used to run, there is the Red Car Museum [1] which features a restored Pacific Electric Railway Red Car. The Red Car trolley tracks once passed through Seal Beach going south to the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach. Going north into Long Beach you could then take the Red Cars through much of Los Angeles County.


Seal Beach is also home to the Bay Theatre, a popular venue for independent film and revival screenings.


The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is located on part of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Much of the refuge's 911 acres (3.69 km2) is the remnant of the saltwater marsh in the Anaheim Bay estuary (the rest of the marsh became the bayside community of Huntington Harbour, which is part of Huntington Beach). Three endangered species, the light-footed Clapper Rail, the California Least Tern, and the Belding's Savannah Sparrow, can be found nesting in the refuge. With the loss and degradation of coastal wetlands in California, the remaining habitat, including the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach and Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach, has become much more important for migrating and wintering shorebirds, waterfowl, and seabirds. Although the refuge is a great place for bird watching, because it is part of the weapons station, access is limited and usually restricted to once-a-month tours.


Recreation


Seal Beach on a crowded summer afternoon. The second longest wooden pier in California (the longest is in Oceanside) is located in Seal Beach and is used for fishing and sightseeing. There is also a restaurant (Ruby's) at the end of the pier. The pier has periodically suffered severe damage due to storms and other mishaps, requiring extensive reconstruction. A plaque at the pier's entrance memorializes Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, 1938, Project No. Calif. 1723-F, a rebuilding necessitated by storms in 1935. Another plaque honors the individuals, businesses, and groups who helped rebuild the pier after a storm on March 2, 1983, tore away several sections. Most prominent was a "Save the Pier" group formed in response to an initial vote by the City Council not to repair the pier. The ensuing outcry of dismay among residents caused the City Council to reverse its stance while claiming the city lacked the necessary funds. Residents mobilized and eventually raised $2.3 million from private and public donors to rebuild the pier.


Surfing locations in Seal Beach include the Seal Beach pier and "Stingray Bay" (or Ray Bay-”the surfer's nickname for the mouth of the San Gabriel River-”the stingrays are attracted by the heated water from several upstream power plants). Classic long board builders in the area include Harbour Surfboards established in 1959 in Seal Beach and Bruce Jones Surfboards in Sunset Beach. The classic surf trunks of Kanvas by Katin in nearby Sunset Beach are world famous.


The USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center, where the men's and women's US Olympic water polo teams train, is located on the US Military Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, adjacent to Seal Beach. The facility is also used for major water polo tournaments, swim classes, and swim teams.


A marina for recreational craft operated by the City of Long Beach is adjacent to Seal Beach.