Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park

Located on the edge of one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, the Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park is comprised of several seashore habitats found in Southern California. All are within easy walking distance of each other near the main channel of the Port of Los Angeles. They include a windswept beach and a protected harbor beach separated by one of the largest breakwaters in the world, as well as tide pools, a fishing pier, a man-made mudflat, and coastal cliffs that provide living spaces for coastal marine organisms. The combination of natural and man-made habitats here bordering the San Pedro neighborhood of the huge metropolis of Los Angeles makes this an unusual environment, representative of an urban ocean.

Authors Mike Schaadt, director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and Ed Mastro, the exhibits director, gathered these evocative photographs to tell this story of the natural history of the flora and fauna found in this urban coastal park. These images are from the archives of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro Historical Society, Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Maritime Museum, and private collections. Schaadt and Mastro have also written about the people and events at Cabrillo Beach in the book Images of America: San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach.