Trinidad Head, California
Encyclopedia
Trinidad Head is a rocky promontory
surrounded by sea stacks
sheltering Trinidad Harbor, adjacent to the town of Trinidad
in Humboldt County, California
, USA, designated as California Historical Landmark
#146.
explorers, Bruno de Heceta
and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
anchored in Trinidad Bay. Two days later, on Trinity Sunday
, 11 June 1775, Trinidad Head was claimed for Spain
in the name of Charles III
by Heceta, his men and two Franciscan
fathers who erected a cross on the summit. Over the next 75 years, Spanish, Russian
and British ships landed at Trinidad Head for sea otters
, fresh water and refuge from storms.
The harbor and Trinidad Head were mapped as part of A.D. Bache's
United States Coast Survey under the direction of Lieutenant Commander William P. McArthur.
, metamorphosed into gabbro
embedded in the surrounding Franciscan melange
, topped with Pleistocene
sands and gravels.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
surrounded by sea stacks
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
sheltering Trinidad Harbor, adjacent to the town of Trinidad
Trinidad, California
Trinidad is a seaside city in Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean north of the Arcata-Eureka Airport and north of the college town of Arcata...
in Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, USA, designated as California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
#146.
History
On 9 June 1775, two Spanish NavalSpanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
explorers, Bruno de Heceta
Bruno de Heceta
Bruno de Heceta y Dudagoitia was a Spanish Basque explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Bilbao of an old Basque family, he was sent by the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area north of Alta California in response to information that there were colonial...
and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...
anchored in Trinidad Bay. Two days later, on Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
, 11 June 1775, Trinidad Head was claimed for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the name of Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
by Heceta, his men and two Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
fathers who erected a cross on the summit. Over the next 75 years, Spanish, Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and British ships landed at Trinidad Head for sea otters
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
, fresh water and refuge from storms.
The harbor and Trinidad Head were mapped as part of A.D. Bache's
Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache was an American physicist, scientist and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey mapping of the United States coastline.-Biography:...
United States Coast Survey under the direction of Lieutenant Commander William P. McArthur.
Geology
Trinidad Head is composed of plutonic igneous rockIgneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
, metamorphosed into gabbro
Gabbro
Gabbro refers to a large group of dark, coarse-grained, intrusive mafic igneous rocks chemically equivalent to basalt. The rocks are plutonic, formed when molten magma is trapped beneath the Earth's surface and cools into a crystalline mass....
embedded in the surrounding Franciscan melange
Mélange
In geology, a mélange is a large-scale breccia, a mappable body of rock characterized by a lack of continuous bedding and the inclusion of fragments of rock of all sizes, contained in a fine-grained deformed matrix. The mélange typically consists of a jumble of large blocks of varied lithologies...
, topped with Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
sands and gravels.
Observatories
- The Trinidad Head LighthouseTrinidad Head LightTrinidad Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse in United States, in Trinidad Harbor, California. The historic site is located north of Eureka, California.-History:...
was built 1871 and remains in operation. - Trinidad Head Observatory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
began operation in 2002, monitoring regional and global meteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
. - NASA'sNASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment began on Trinidad Head in 1995 and was updated to a system which can measure more than 40 trace gases in May 2005.