Road Trip: Bodega Bay, CA

ROAD TRIP:

BODEGA BAY, CA

April 24, 2022

Bodega Bay, California, is a fishing village fifty miles north of San Francisco.

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PHOTOS

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Morning Sun on Bodega Bay

Bodega Head Coastline

Whale Watchers

Location: Bodega Head coastline.

Ice Plant

Location: Bodega Bay Harbor.

Hole in the Head

This is a complicated story. Here are some highlights:

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) planned to build the first commercially viable nuclear power plant in the US at Bodega Bay. The proposal was controversial and conflict with local citizens began in the late 1950s. 

By 1963 construction of a 325-megawatt nuclear power reactor was well underway. In a what-me-worry decision, PG&E had ignored the fact that the reactor was being built atop the San Andreas Fault. It was the San Andreas Fault that produced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Concerned locals and environmentalists banded together to stop the project.

 Bodega Head is alive with birds. It’s part of the Pacific Flyway — a major north-south migratory route that extends from Alaska to Patagonia. More than 150 bird species have been spotted here. Egrets, herons, hawks, and pelicans are common. In the 1950s, the National Park Service recommended that Bodega Head be preserved for its natural beauty. In 1956, the state legislature approved funds to purchase the land and make it a state beach and park.  

In 1964 the environmental movement scored a major victory when the Atomic Energy Commission released a report that declared Bodega Head was “not a suitable location for the proposed nuclear power plant.” The 8.5 magnitude Anchorage, Alaska earthquake in 1964 was the nail in the coffin when geologists found the quake had caused significant slippage at Bodega Head. As a result, PG&E canceled plans for the plant and sold the land to the California State Parks for $1 and the Hole in the Head became part of Sonoma Coast State Park.

 Now, all that remains is the "Hole in the Head", a water-filled pit more than 100 feet deep. 

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COPYRIGHT

These photographs are the property of Leon Jackson and are protected by copyright laws. Photographs may not be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Leon Jackson. © 2022 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

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