Rockaway Beach, California

Rockaway Beach is a shoreline area of the Pacific Ocean in the southern portion of Pacifica, California, United States, approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the city of San Francisco. It is located within a gently curving embayment with direct access via Rockaway Beach Avenue and providing easy access to Highway 1.

The beach itself is a popular place to visit with many restaurant and shopping venues although erosion has decreased its size over the years. It is noted for its scenic overlook, and is one of the cleanest in the San Francisco Bay Area.

There are no known prehistoric remains in Rockaway Beach itself; however, the site of the Ohlone Native American village site of Timigtac is located about a half mile away on Calera Creek, immediately to the east of Rockaway Beach by State Route 1.

The Rockaway beach area has played a role in local history since the arrival of the Portola Expedition, the Spanish explorers credited with discovery of the San Francisco Bay. As early as 1776, limestone was quarried in the Rockaway Beach lime pits and was used to whitewash the newly built Presidio of San Francisco . More recent investigations suggest that early settlements in San Pedro Valley also used this limestone for their foundations. In 1907, the Rockaway Beach quarry was established as a continuously-operating commercial entity known as the Stone Brothers. After construction of the Ocean Shore Railroad in 1907, limestone from this quarry was conveyed to assist with the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Quarry materials were actually used as ballast for the trackbed of the railroad; moreover, after completion of the railroad, Rockaway Beach was considered a suburb of San Francisco due to convenient access. This all changed after legal problems resulting from landslide repair caused the railroad to go bankrupt in 1921.

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Wikipedia