Huntington Beach incorporated in 1921. It has one of the oldest high schools in Southern California, built in 1926. Its team, the Oilers, are named after the city's original natural resource.
The climate is generally sunny, dry and cool. At morning and evening, there are often strong breezes, 15MPH (25KPH). Ocean water temperatures average 55F (10C) to 65F (15C). In the summer, temperatures rarely exceed 85F (25C). In the winter, temperatures rarely fall below 55F (10C), even on clear nights. There are about 10 inches (25cm) of rain, almost all in mid-winter. Frost occurs less often than once every ten years.
Because the coast curves so strongly eastward at Huntington Beach, the local beach actually faces south, making it one of the most pleasant, sunny beaches of the west coast of the U.S.
Huntington Beach is the site of the world surfing championships. held in late summer every year, and usually televised. Because of this, it calls itself "Surf City."
Huntington Beach also has the oldest 4th-of-July parade in the United States. This is often televised.
Because of its land-use policies, Huntington Beach has the largest ratio of park acreage to person of any city in the United States. Almost all schools have playing fields arranged for public access as parks, with park-like amenities near major streets, and schools near the centers of blocks. Since Huntington Beach contains a power generating station, the high-voltage rights-of-way are numerous, and have also been zoned as parks with walkways. Huntington Beach also has a very large Central Park, vegetated with xeric (low water use) vegetation, and the more pleasant native wildlife and plants, supplemented with Australian trees.
The Central Library is located in Central Park in a notable building designed by Mario Pei. It is large, and has an old collection. It was founded as a Carnegie Library in 1916, and has been continuously supported by the city and local activists. It is independent of the state and county library systems.
Huntington Beach also has Golden West Community College, which offers two-year associates of arts degrees, and transfer programs to the state universities.
The northern and southern beaches are state parks. Only the central beach is maintained by the City Government. The northern beach is actually a sand bar fronting the Bolsa Chica Harbor. Camping and RVs are permitted in the north beach. Camping spaces for the 4th of July and the Surfing Championships must be reserved many months in advance.
Bolsa Chica Harbor is suitable for light craft, and includes a dock, launching ramp, basic services and a restaurant.
The harbor entrance is sometimes restricted by the US Navy, which maintains a nuclear weapons stockpile in adjacent Seal Beach, and a loading dock in the harbor. This is confirmed because one of the ammunition dumps is continuously lit, with a cornerless fence, and signs that warn that intruders may be shot.
The northern edge of the harbor is a marsh, Bolsa Chica. A part of the marsh is Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge.
Large parts of Bolsa Chica are privately owned, or owned by the city and planned for development. As of 2001, there is an active political dispute between developers and local conservationists, with active local organizations on both sides.
Huntington Beach also sits above a large natural salt dome, containing oil. Although the oil is depleted in large part, extraction continues at a slow rate. There are several off-shore extraction facilities.
Large parts of the developed land have been contaminated by heavy metals from the water separated from the oil. Some areas have been approved for development. The worst-polluted areas have been reclaimed as parks.
Huntington Beach also has the largest, or second largest oil storage facility on the West Coast. Because of the proximity of oil, and nearby refineries, the local gas prices tend to be lower than anywhere else in southern California.
Since large areas of Huntington Beach lie in the Santa Ana River delta, some recently settled areas lie beneath the 100-year and 50-year flood zone. In 1926, the Santa Ana River dam failed, and flash-flooded its entire delta, which is now a settled area of Huntington Beach. The flood and dam-endangered areas are protected by a levee, but flood insurance is mandatory.
Also, large fractions of the settled land are in earthquake liquefaction zones above known active faults.
Since it is a seaside city, Huntington Beach has also had tsunami warnings, storm floods, sewage disgorgements, and waterspouts. The cold offshore current prevents hurricanes.
Huntington Beach is one of the most emergency-prone settled areas on the West Coast of the United States. Because of this, it has an active Community Emergency Response Team training program, that trains citizens as FEMA-Certified Disaster Service Workers as a part of a free program run by the fire department's Office of Emergency Services.
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