Welcome to Huntington Beach!
Huntington Beach is located in southern California. The city population is approximated at 189,594. It is
bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, by Seal Beach on the north, by Costa Mesa on the south, by Westminster on the northeast, and by
Fountain Valley on the east.
It is known for its long beach, mild climate, and excellent surfing. The waves are a unique natural effect caused by
edge-diffraction of ocean swells by the island of Catalina, and waves from distant hurricanes. Because of the curve of the coastline at
Huntington Beach, the local beach actually faces southwest. In summer, the southwest-facing beach often has very strong surf from hurricanes off
the Mexican coast.
The area was originally occupied by the Tongva people. European settlement can be traced to a Spanish soldier, Manuel Nieto, who
in 1784 received a Spanish land grant of 300,000 acres, Rancho Los Nietos, as a reward for his military service and to encourage settlement in
Alta California. Nieto's western area was reduced in 1790 because of a dispute with the Mission San Gabriel, but he retained thousands of acres
stretching from the hills north of Whittier, Fullerton and Brea, south to the Pacific Ocean, and from today's Los Angeles River on the west, to
the Santa Ana River on the east.
Huntington Beach incorporated in 1909 under its first mayor, Ed Manning. Its original developer was the Huntington Beach Company, a real-estate
development firm owned by Henry Huntington, a railroad magnate after whom the city is named. The Huntington Company is still a major land-owner
in the city, and still owns most of the local mineral rights.
The city's first high school, Huntington Beach High School was built in 1906. The school's team, the Oilers, are named after the
city's original natural resource.
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