Rockaway Beach, Pacifica, California
Rockaway Beach is a shoreline area of the Pacific Ocean in the southern portion of Pacifica, California, situated approximately seven miles south of the city of San Francisco. The beach is noted for its scenic vista, easy access to State Highway 1, and appealing restaurant and shopping venues. Rockaway beach is located within a gently curving embayment with direct access via Rockaway Beach Avenue.
History
There are no known prehistoric remains in Rockaway Beach itself; however, an officially recorded site, State of California archaeological site CA-SMd-162 is situated 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 for use to whitewash the newly built the 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 rebuilding of San Francisco after the Great Earthquake of 1906. 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 sfter legal problems arising from landslide repair bankrupted the railroad in 1921.
State Highway 1 was completed from Montara to Rockaway Beach in 1938, reopening the local area again to easy northern access. Horace Hill operated the quarry from the early 1940s to 1953, along with a profitable sand dredging business on the quarry's backside. Ideal Cement took over the quarry operation at that time and owned it until 1971. Later operators were Rhodes and Jamison and Quarry Products.
Natural Features
The coastal bluffs have verticality as steep as 60 percent, while some of the quarry sufaces are totally sheer. The limstone beds within the quarry are hard and fresh with close to widely spaced fractures. Some of these beds are underlain by greenstone, an altered volcanic rock that becomes less weathered with depth. The eastern portion of the quarry area is underlain by alluvial terrace deposits. The beach littoral zone is underlain by Holocene age beach sand, and the upper sands vary in depth by season, depending on the surf scouring of beach sands in the winter and the gradual rebuilding of sands in the summer.
The beach and headlands are comprised mostly of coastal prairie and Northern Coastal shrub, while the riparian area of Calera Creek presents the most important upland habitat of the area. Although the beach and headlands area are the least disturbed natural areas of the Rockaway Beach area, they are used moderately as recreation spots. Vegetation is sparse on the beach with occurances of Succulent sea fig, Hottentot fig and Fat hen in the sandy areas. Further in from the beach are found California poppies, Sand verbena and Bush lupines. The near littoral elevation gradually increases toward the north until it reaches a headland peak of 175 feet.
Habitat on the headland east facing slope is Northern coastal shrub boasts considerable Prostrate coyote bush, Bush monkey flower and further colonies of Bush lupine. A gamut of coastal wildflowers inhabit the headland slopes; besides California poppy are found Goldenasters, Douglas Iris and many other species. The steep bluff faces host plants that are tolerant of wind and sea salt mist, including Silver beachweed, Sea rockets and extensive patches of Yarrow.
North of the developed area of Rockaway Beach is a hidden quarry, whose habitat is severely diturbed. Near Calera creek there is aquatic vegetation including rushes, bullrushes, horsetail, fat hen and plantain. This quarry area hosts a surprising number of amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and a variety of birdlife. Avafauna sighted here include herons, egrets, least terns as well as red-winged blackbird. The headland cliffs within the quarry provide nesting sites for bank swallows, pelagic cormorants and Brandt's cormorants. Two endangered species are found proximate to Rockaway Beach: the San Bruno elfin butterfly and the San Francisco garter snake.
Lively developed area
Hugging the coast at the center of Rockaway Beach is a cluster of restaurants and shops, the oldest of which is a Pacifica landmark, Nick's Seafood Restaurant. Another restaurant, historically the romantic Moonraker, is sadly now renamed, but holds the same breathtaking nighttime views over the illuminated waves of the Pacific crashing at the restaurant foundation bulwarks. Newer shops nestle behind the Moonraker, many a product of the Redevelopment plan developed by the city in 1986.
Bibliography
- Curtis Alling, Phyllis Potter, C. Michael Hogan et al., Environmental Impact Report for the West Rockaway Beach Redevelopment Plan, prepared for City of Pacifica by Earth Metrics Inc., Burlingame, California, March, 1986
- General Plan, city of Pacifica (1980)
- Pacifica Quarry Reclamation Plan, Martin Carpenter Associates (1983)
- Phyllis M. Faber, Common Wetland Plants of Coastal California
- Geoloogic Map of Unconsolidated and Moderately Consolidated Deposits of San Mateo County, California, U.S. Geological Survey, Field Studies Map MF-575 (1974)