Santa Barbara County
Cities and Towns
Source: Wikipedia
Carpinteria
Carpinteria is a small oceanside city
located in the southeastern extremity of Santa Barbara County,
California, east of Santa Barbara and northwest of Ventura. The
population was 14,194 at the 2000 census.
The Spanish named the area Carpinteria because the Chumash tribe,
which lived in the area, had a large seagoing canoe-building
enterprise, or "carpentry shop" there; this was due to
the availability of naturally-occurring surface tar which was
used to seal the boats. You can still see the tar oozing out of
the bluffs at Tar Pits Park, on the beach just south of the
campground.
Carpinteria Beach is known to have a gentle, sloping terrain and
calm waves in selected sandy areas but also good surfing swells
in other rocky areas. Seals and sea lions can be seen in the area
December through May at the rookery in the nearby Carpinteria
Bluffs, as well as an occasional gray whale. Tidepools contain
starfish, sea anemones, crabs, snails, octopuses and sea urchins.
The gentle sloping fine-grain white sand makes for good jogging
and running terrain, with the round trip south of the rookery to
Rincon Point being approximately 10 kilometers. A marathon-length
round trip north of the rookery to Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara
is possible, though passable only during low tide. A popular
campground is located adjacent to the beach. There is good bird
watching at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve.
The city has a small weekly newspaper called The Coastal View.
The city of Carpinteria is served by the Carpinteria Unified
School District, which also includes the community of Summerland,
and some outlying areas. It includes one high school, one middle
(junior high) school, and four elementary schools, one of which
is an alternative school (K-6). The district also has an
alternative high school. Cate School, a private preparatory
school, is located in Carpinteria. Pacifica Graduate Institute,
home of the Joseph Campbell and Marija Gimbutas Library, is
located in Carpinteria. This graduate school offers master's and
PhD programs in depth psychology and mythology. Carpinteria High
School's football team, the Warriors, defeated Moorpark High
School in 51 consecutive games which is a national high school
record.
Since 1987, the California Avocado Festival has been held in
Carpinteria on the first weekend of October. Santa Barbara Polo
Club, one of the main equestrian polo fields in the country, is
located within city limits. Carpinteria is also home to Hollandia
Produce, an organic produce company with 70 employees.
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,194 persons, 4,989
households, and 3,332 families residing in the city. The
population density was 5,250.8 people per square mile. There were
5,464 housing units at an average density of 2,021.3/sq mi. The
racial makeup of the city was 73.40% White, 0.59% African
American, 0.99% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.18% Pacific
Islander, 18.09% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more
races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.50% of the
population.
There were 4,989 households out of which 33.3% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living
together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 33.2% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up
of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and
the average family size was 3.38.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the
age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45
to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,729, and
the median income for a family was $54,849. Males had a median
income of $35,679 versus $30,736 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $21,563. About 7.1% of families and 10.4%
of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of
those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Carpinteria hosts an annual Avocado Festival, with a history
extending back to 1902. Over 80,000 persons attend the three-day
festival which takes place during the first weekend of October.
The festival offers avocado products and locally made goods.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carpinteriasunset1.jpg
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carpinteria.jpg
This page was last updated July 19, 2009.
