Gorda, California

Gorda is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California.[1] It is located 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Cape San Martin,[2] at an elevation of 148 ft (45 m).[1] It is one of the three small settlements of filling stations, restaurants, and motels located along State Route 1 on the Big Sur coast. The ZIP Code is 93920, but mail must be addressed to Big Sur,[3] and the community is inside area code 805.

Gorda
Unincorporated community
Gorda, California.
Gorda Location in California
Coordinates: 35°52′35″N 121°26′46″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Monterey County
Elevation [1]	148 ft (45 m)
ZIP code	93920
Area code	805
GNIS feature ID	271364

History

View of Pacific Ocean at Gorda, California.

The fresh springs in Gorda were used by Native American tribes. The first Europeans arrived in 1878, when a stagecoach stop was built in Gorda. The settlement expanded with the Gold Rush in nearby Manchester during the 1880s.[4] A post office operated at Gorda from 1893 to 1923, moving in 1910.[2] Government surveyor James M. Hill described the town in February, 1921 as "a small ranching settlement on the coast about midway between Monterey and San Luis Obispo."

Road-side services include a small hotel and cottages, restaurant, gas station, deli, espresso bar, and convenience store.[5] In 1979, the town attracted national attention after most of its public land was purchased by Kidco Limited Ventures, a corporation owned by four children all minors from Ramona, California, who were heirs of the family that owned the Cessna Aircraft company. [6] After funding the company, $500,000 was invested as a tax shelter to purchase the town's land. At the time, Dickie Cessna was 14 years old and the other three siblings were June (16), Bette (13) and Nene (11). [7] [8] After the Cessna children were paid for the filming rights, a dramatized version of the events was made and distributed by 20th Century. The film, Kidco, was released in 1984 as a comedy, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and starring Scott Schwartz, Clifton James, Charles Hallahan, Maggie Blye, and Vincent Schiavelli.

Mud Creek slide

The May 22, 2017, mud slide at Mud Creek covered Highway 1 for more than a quarter-mile.

On May 20, 2017, the largest slide in the highway's history at Mud Creek buried more than a quarter-mile of Highway 1 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Gorda. The highway was closed for more than a year. This had a considerable negative economic impact for tourism between Monterey and Morro Bay. A CalTrans study concluded that rerouting the highway around the slide was preferred over other alternatives.[9][10] The only route in and out of Gorda beginning in the south was via a lengthy detour over the narrow, winding Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. On August 2, 2017, CalTrans decided to rebuild the highway over the slide instead of clearing it.[11] It was reopened on July 18, 2018 at a cost of $54 million.[12][13][14]

Etymology

Gorda is derived from the Spanish word for "fat" or "well-fed".[15]

High fuel prices

As of April 26, 2008, Gorda had the highest gasoline prices in the United States at $6.70 per gallon. This is due in part to the cost of a diesel generator that provides electricity to the gas station and town.[16][17][18]

Geography

Under the Köppen climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an average temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between 18 to −3 °C (64 to 27 °F). Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third the rainfall of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30 mm (1 in) of precipitation in a summer month.[19]

Climate

Climate data for Gorda, CA
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	81 (27)	85 (29)	87 (31)	98 (37)	96 (36)	102 (39)	99 (37)	101 (38)	100 (38)	100 (38)	90 (32)	75 (24)	102 (39)
Average high °F (°C)	59.7 (15.4)	61.5 (16.4)	63.4 (17.4)	68.3 (20.2)	72.6 (22.6)	75.9 (24.4)	75.6 (24.2)	77.3 (25.2)	77.1 (25.1)	73.2 (22.9)	64.5 (18.1)	59.9 (15.5)	69.1 (20.6)
Average low °F (°C)	42.9 (6.1)	43.1 (6.2)	43.4 (6.3)	43.5 (6.4)	45.8 (7.7)	48.3 (9.1)	50.4 (10.2)	50.0 (10.0)	50.3 (10.2)	47.9 (8.8)	44.9 (7.2)	41.9 (5.5)	46.0 (7.8)
Record low °F (°C)	27 (−3)	29 (−2)	27 (−3)	30 (−1)	35 (2)	37 (3)	41 (5)	40 (4)	39 (4)	36 (2)	28 (−2)	27 (−3)	27 (−3)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	9.10 (231)	8.65 (220)	6.49 (165)	3.11 (79)	1.09 (28)	0.24 (6.1)	0.03 (0.76)	0.05 (1.3)	0.42 (11)	2.03 (52)	4.85 (123)	7.62 (194)	43.70 (1,110)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.3	11.2	10.3	6.5	3.7	1.1	0.3	0.4	1.3	3.5	7.5	10.3	66.4
Source: NOAA[20]

Government

At the county level, Gorda is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter.[21]

In the California State Legislature, Gorda is in the 17th Senate District, represented by Democrat John Laird, and in the 30th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Robert Rivas.[22]

In the United States House of Representatives, Gorda is in California's 20th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta[23]

References

1. "Gorda". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 901. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
3. "USPS.com® - ZIP Code™ Lookup". Archived from the original on 2010-11-23.
4. "Gorda Springs Resort, Big Sur, CA - California Beaches". Beachcalifornia.com.
5. Resort, Gorda Springs. "Gorda Springs Resort - Lodging, Restaurant, Gas, Groceries". Welcome to Gorda Springs Resort. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
6. "Life Is Mellow in a Town Owned by Four Youths; Came Here to Be Left Alone Town Bought as Tax Shelter", The New York Times, November 6, 1980, pA16
7. "A Place of Their Own", photo in Pittsburgh Press, June 6, 1979, pA-6
8. Kidco Isn't Kid Stuff— Children's Company Is Big Business Now", by Cilla Brown, Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1979, pI-12
9. "'Mother Of All Landslides' In Big Sur Buries Section Of California's Highway 1". Npr.org. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
10. "New road planned to traverse Big Sur slide". Sfgate.com. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
11. Schmalz, David Caltrans announces plan to reopen Highway 1 at Mud Creek
12. Reyes, Juan. "Caltrans sets new target date to reopen Highway 1 in Big Sur at Mud Creek". Monterey County Herald. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
13. Caltrans, State of California. "SR1 Road Information - California Highway Information". www.dot.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
14. Forgione, Mary (July 18, 2018). "It's open! The last landslide closure on Highway 1 near Big Sur reopened to traffic earlier than expected". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
15. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 139.
16. "$5.20 a Gallon? America's Priciest Gas". ABC News. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
17. "Most Stunning View in Town Is the One at the Pump", Jesse McKinley, The New York Times, March 12, 2008
18. "NBCNews.com Video Player". NBC News.
19. "Big Sur, California Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.com.
20. "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
21. "Monterey County Supervisorial District 5 Map (North District 5)" (PDF). County of Monterey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
22. "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
23. "California's 20th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2014.