Malibu Lagoon State Beach in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

, United States, is also known as Surfrider Beach. It was dedicated as the first World Surfing Reserve on October 9, 2010. The site was established as a California

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in 1951. It lies within the

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains. Located in greater Los Ange ...

Natural history

Malibu Lagoon is an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

at the mouth of

Malibu Creek Malibu Creek is a year-round stream in western Los Angeles County, California. It drains the southern Conejo Valley and Simi Hills, flowing south through the Santa Monica Mountains, and enters Santa Monica Bay in Malibu. Distribution The ...

at 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 ...

in Malibu. It is being restored by a multiagency partnership. Migratory birds use the lagoon when on the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

Snowy Plover The snowy plover (''Anarhynchus nivosus'') is a small shorebird found in the Americas. It is a member of the bird family Charadriidae, which includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The snowy plover was originally described by John Cassin ...

s nest on the beach and are protected.

Surfing

Malibu Lagoon is a famous right-break that had a big impact on the

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

culture in

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 ...

in the 1960s. Located near the Malibu Pier, it is among the most popular surf spots in

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 ...

. The shoreline is usually triple-cornered due to the buildup of silt, sand, and cobble at the mouth of the creek. The tapering, smooth-breaking waves are recognized among surfers worldwide as the gold standard for summertime "point" surf. Malibu Lagoon has three primary surfing areas. First Point has waves popular with longboarders and shortboarders during bigger swells. Second Point is used for high performance surfing. It has a main takeoff that lines up and connects into the inside called the "kiddie bowl". Third Point has a left and right side. On the south swells most common in late August and September, surfers can ride all the way to the pier.

References

External links

Malibu Lagoon State Beach
{{authority control 1951 establishments in California Beaches of Southern California California State Beaches Malibu, California Parks in Los Angeles County, California Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Surfing locations in California Beaches of Los Angeles County, California Tourist attractions in Malibu, California

Natural history

Surfing

See also

References

External links