Golita, California
February 27, 2021
Carpinteria (/kɑːrpɪntəˈriːə/; Spanish: La Carpintería) is a small oceanside city located in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California, east of Santa Barbara and northwest of Ventura. The population was 13,040 at the 2010 census.
Carpinteria Beach is known for its gentle slope and calm waves in certain sandy areas but also good surfing swells in some of the more rocky areas. Seals and sea lions can be seen in the area December through May at the rookery in the nearby Carpinteria Bluffs. Tidepools contain starfish, sea anemones, crabs, snails, octopuses and sea urchins. A popular campground is located adjacent to the beach. There is bird watching at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, established in 1977 and administered by the Natural Reserve System of the University of California. The Wardholme Torrey Pine, the largest known Torrey pine tree on earth, is located in downtown Carpinteria.
Since 1987, the California Avocado Festival has been held in Carpinteria on the first weekend of October. The Santa Barbara Polo Club, one of the main equestrian polo fields in the country, is located in Carpinteria. The city is also home to Hollandia Produce, an organic produce company with 70 employees. lynda.com, an online software training company ranked as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. (according to Inc. magazine's 2010 500|5000 company listing) had its headquarters in Carpinteria. The company was purchased by LinkedIn in 2015 for $1.5 billion.
History
Carpinteria was home to a Chumash village during pre-colonial times, which was known as Šujtu.
In 1769, the Spanish Portola expedition came west along the beach from the previous night's encampment at Rincon. The explorers found a large native village on the point of land where Carpinteria Pier is today. The party camped nearby on August 17. Fray Juan Crespi, a Franciscan missionary travelling with the expedition, noted that "Not far from the town we saw some springs of pitch. The Indians have many canoes, and at the time were building one, for which reason the soldiers named this town La Carpinteria" (the carpentry shop).
The Chumash people used the naturally occurring surface asphalt to seal their canoes, known as Tomols. Petroleum seeps are still visible along the beach bluffs at Tar Pits Park on the campground beach of Carpinteria State Beach. The three closest drilling platforms visible from the shore are within the Carpinteria Offshore Oil Field, the 50th-largest field in California.
Geography
Carpinteria is located several miles east of the city of Santa Barbara (the coast runs east to west in this section of California). Nearby is the unincorporated community of Summerland.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2 square miles, of which 2.6 square miles is land and 6.7 square miles (72.11%) is water.
The city is located almost entirely on a coastal plain in between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Immediately to the north of Carpinteria lie foothills and then the Santa Ynez Mountains. Between the foothills and the populated area of the city is an agricultural zone. The mountains provide a scenic backdrop to town, covered in chaparral and displaying prominent sandstone outcrops. Because of the well-ventilated nature of the air basin, ozone concentrations are low while air quality is high.
Carpinteria Beach is known for its gentle slope and calm waves in selected sandy areas but also good surfing swells in some of the more rocky areas.
Wildlife
Seals and sea lions can be seen in the area December through May at the rookery in the nearby Carpinteria Bluffs, as well as an occasional gray whale. Tidepools contain starfish, sea anemones, crabs, snails, octopuses and sea urchins. A marathon-length round trip north of the rookery along the beach to Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara is possible, though passable only during low tide. A popular campground is located adjacent to the beach. There is bird watching at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, established in 1977 and administered by the Natural Reserve System of the University of California. The Wardholme Torrey Pine, largest known Torrey pine tree on earth, is located in downtown Carpinteria.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Carpinteria has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.
Demographics
2010
At the 2010 census Carpinteria had a population of 13,040. The population density was 1,406.5 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Carpinteria was 9,348 (71.7%) White, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,351 persons (48.7%), 109 (0.8%) African American, 144 (1.1%) Native American, 296 (2.3%) Asian, 15 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,599 (19.9%) from other races, and 529 (4.1%) from two or more races.
The census reported that 13,021 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 19 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 4,759 households, 1,510 (31.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,305 (48.4%) were married couples living together, 597 (12.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 239 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 293 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 28 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,203 households (25.3%) were one person and 525 (11.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74. There were 3,141 families (66.0% of households); the average family size was 3.23.
The age distribution was 2,791 people (21.4%) under the age of 18, 1,267 people (9.7%) aged 18 to 24, 3,466 people (26.6%) aged 25 to 44, 3,717 people (28.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,799 people (13.8%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
There were 5,429 housing units at an average density of 585.6 per square mile, of the
occupied units 2,347 (49.3%) were owner-occupied and 2,412 (50.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%. 6,130 people (47.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 6,891 people (52.8%) lived in rental housing units.
Economy
Transportation
The Carpinteria Amtrak Station is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego.
Carpinteria MTD provides local bus service. VISTA provides commuter bus service to Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.
Notable people
Ichak Adizes, business consultant
David Binney, alto saxophonist, composer, producer
Maxwell Caulfield, actor
Stan Cornyn, recording executive
Kevin Costner, actor
Warren Christopher, former US Secretary of State (1993-97)
Ellen DeGeneres, comedian, talk show host
Susan Flannery, actress
Chris Gocong, football player
Jesse James, actor
Dennis Miller, comedian, talk show host
Alan Thicke, actor, songwriter, game and talk show host
