Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island

Santa Catalina Island satellite image
Santa Catalina Island Santa Catalina Island, California
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	33°23′N 118°25′W / 33.383°N 118.417°W / 33.383; -118.417Coordinates: 33°23′N 118°25′W / 33.383°N 118.417°W / 33.383; -118.417
Archipelago	Channel Islands of California
Area	74.98 sq mi (194.2 km2)
Highest elevation	2,097 ft (639.2 m)
Highest point	Mount Orizaba
Administration
United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Largest settlement	Avalon (pop. 3,728)
Demographics
Population	4,096 (2010)
Pop. density	55 /sq mi (21.2 /km2)

Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island is 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is 2,097 feet (639 m) Mt. Orizaba. Santa Catalina is part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago and lies within Los Angeles County.

Catalina was originally settled by Native Americans who called the island Pimugna or Pimu and referred to themselves as Pimugnans or Pimuvit. The first Europeans to arrive on Catalina claimed it for the Spanish Empire. Over the years, territorial claims to the island transferred to Mexico and then to the United States. During this time, the island was sporadically used for smuggling, otter hunting, and gold-digging, before successfully being developed into a tourist destination by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. beginning in the 1920s. Since the 1970s, most of the island has been administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy.

Its total population in the 2010 census was 4,096 people, 90 percent of whom live in the island's only incorporated city, Avalon. The second center of population is the unincorporated village of Two Harbors at the island's isthmus. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements of Rancho Escondido and Middle Ranch. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two population centers.