Alamitos Bay is an inlet of east San Pedro Bay on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

coast of

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, United States, between the cities of

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

and Seal Beach in Orange County, at the outlet of the San Gabriel River. It is near Los Angeles. The bay is named for the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

word for 'little poplars'.

Geography

Alamitos Bay is protected by both the natural sand spit

Peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

and the Long Beach Breakwater. It is divided from the San Gabriel River and Seal Beach by a pair of

jetties A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signif ...

. The natural geography has been heavily altered by dredging and landfill subsequent to development. The bay was severely impacted by the

1939 California tropical storm The 1939 California tropical storm, also known as the 1939 Long Beach tropical storm, and El Cordonazo (referring to the Cordonazo winds or the "Lash of St. Francis" ()), was a tropical cyclone that affected Southern California in September 1939 ...

Venues

Alamitos Bay contains Marine Stadium, created for Olympic rowing events.

Water quality

After efforts to clear contaminated sediment and improve circulation, Heal the Bay has re-assessed the water's quality. In a 2020 report, the "Summer Dry Grade" at the 2nd Street Bridge was "B," and at Mother's Beach "A." "Winter Dry Grades" were "C" and "B," respectively. "Wet Weather Grades" were both "F." The water quality of the bay could be diminished in the future if the pumps of the nearby Alamitos Energy Center are decommissioned. The city is assessing a replacement for these pumps to maintain the bay's water circulation.

Islands

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, a collection of three islands, is entirely within Alamitos Bay.

Gallery

File:Seals at Alamitos Bay, near Seal Beach.jpg, Harbor seals at Alamitos Bay File:FMIB 34261 Map of Alamitos Bay Cal.jpeg, 1889 map of Alamitos Bay by

Charles Henry Gilbert Charles Henry Gilbert (December 5, 1859 in Rockford, Illinois – April 20, 1928 in Palo Alto, California) was a pioneer ichthyologist and Fisheries science, fishery biologist of particular significance to natural history of the western Unit ...

File:Alamitos Bay, a popular residential and water sports area, near Long Beach, Signal Hill, one of... (NBY 9223).jpg, 1960 postcard

References