Editing Eureka, California (section)

== History ==

=== Native Americans ===
The [[Wiyot people]] lived in {{langnf|wiy|'''Jaroujiji'''|where you sit and rest|i=no}}, now known as Eureka, for thousands of years before European arrival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Land Acknowledgement |url=https://www.clarkemuseum.org/land-acknowledgement.html |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=CLARKE HISTORICAL MUSEUM |language=en}}</ref>Their traditional coastal homeland ranges from the [[Little River (Humboldt County)|Little River]] in the north to [[Bear River (Humboldt County)|Bear River Ridge]] in the south, including the entire coastline of Humboldt Bay, stretching inland to the mountains.<ref name="Wiyot History">{{cite web |title=History of the Wiyot Tribe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902211056/https://www.wiyot.us/148/Cultural |url=https://www.wiyot.us/148/Cultural |website=Wiyot Tribe, CA |publisher=Wiyot Tribe |access-date=2 September 2024 |archive-date=2 September 2024}}</ref> The Wiyot people are particularly known for their basketry<ref>{{cite web |title=Wiyot People, Places, and Practices |url=https://www.clarkemuseum.org/wiyot-people-places-and-practices.html |publisher=Clarke Historical Museum |access-date=2 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902212129/https://www.clarkemuseum.org/wiyot-people-places-and-practices.html |archive-date=September 2, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> and fishery management. An extensive collection of intricate basketry of the area's indigenous groups exists in the [[Clarke Historical Museum]] in [[Old Town Eureka]].

The [[Yurok people|Yurok]] people share [[Algic languages|linguistic]] and cultural practices with the Wiyot people, and their traditional territory is located to the north of Eureka. The Yurok Tribe's [[language revitalization]] program is seen by many as the most successful of its kind in California, and {{As of|2013|lc=y}}, [[Eureka High School (California)|Eureka High School]] has the largest [[Yurok language]] program of any school.<ref name="LAT2013">{{cite news  | last =Romney  | first =Lee  | title =Revival of nearly extinct Yurok language is a success story  | work =Los Angeles Times  | date = February 6, 2013 | url =http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-yurok-language-20130207,0,776112.story   | access-date = February 7, 2013 }}</ref>

===Founding on Humboldt Bay===

For nearly 300 years after 1579, European exploration of the coast of what would become northern California repeatedly missed definitively locating Humboldt Bay because of a combination of geographic features and weather conditions which concealed the narrow bay entrance from view. Despite a well-documented 1806 sighting by Russian explorers, the bay was not definitively known by Europeans until an 1849 overland exploration provided a reliable accounting of the exact location of what is the second-largest bay in California.<ref name="Davidson">{{cite book  | last =Davidson  | first =George   | title =The discovery of Humboldt Bay, California  | publisher =Geographical Society of the Pacific  |year =1891  | page =[https://archive.org/details/discoveryhumbol00pacigoog/page/n17 16]  | url =https://archive.org/details/discoveryhumbol00pacigoog}}</ref> The timing of this discovery led to the May 13, 1850, founding of the settlement of Eureka on its shore by the Union and Mendocino Exploring (development) companies.<ref name="Coy">{{cite book  | last =Coy  | first =Owen Cochran  | title =The Humboldt Bay Region 1850–1875  | publisher =California State Historical Association  | year = 1929   | page =[https://archive.org/details/humboldtbayregio00coyo/page/346 346]  | url =https://archive.org/details/humboldtbayregio00coyo| url-access =registration  | id = B0006Y3SOU }}</ref>

===Gold Rush era===

After the primary [[California Gold Rush]] in the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierras]], Humboldt Bay was settled with the intent of providing a convenient alternative to the long overland route from [[Sacramento]] to supply miners on the [[Trinity River (California)|Trinity]], [[Klamath River|Klamath]] and [[Salmon River (California)|Salmon]] Rivers where gold had been discovered. Though the ideal location on Humboldt Bay adjacent to naturally deeper shipping channels ultimately guaranteed Eureka's development as the primary city on the bay, [[Arcata, California|Arcata]]'s proximity to developing supply lines to inland gold mines ensured supremacy over Eureka through 1856.<ref name="EkaArch"/>

[[Eureka (word)|"Eureka"]] received its name from a [[Greek language|Greek]] word meaning "I have found it!"<ref name="Gudde">{{cite book  | last =Gudde  | first =Erwin Gustav |author2=William Bright  | title =California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names  | publisher =University of California Press  | date = April 1, 2004 | page =467  | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqwt5RlMVBoC| id =  0-520-01574-6|isbn=978-0-520-24217-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ| title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n121 122]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33PuGq_a8rEC&q=eureka,+california|title=Eureka and Humboldt County, California|last1=Service|first1=Pamela F.|last2=Hillman|first2=Raymond W.|date=2001|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738518725|location=Great Britain|page=7|language=en}}</ref> This exuberant statement of successful (or hopeful) gold rush miners is also the official [[motto]] of the State of California. Eureka is the only U.S. location to use the same seal as the state for its seal.<ref name="NSGW66">[http://nsgw66.org/calseal.html Seal of California] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615075636/http://nsgw66.org/calseal.html |date=June 15, 2013 }}, Native Sons of the Golden West, Redwood Parlor No. 66. Retrieved February 14, 2013</ref>

===Wiyot Massacre===
{{further|1860 Wiyot massacre}}
Incoming settlers began encroaching on Wiyot people by cutting off their access to ancestral sources of food in addition to the outright theft of their land. [[Fort Humboldt State Historic Park|Fort Humboldt]] was established by the U.S. Army on January 30, 1853, to establish peaceful relations between Native Americans, gold-seekers and settlers, often at the expense of the life and liberty of the Native people. The fort was commanded by Brevet Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert C. Buchanan]] of the [[U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment]].<ref name="Strobridge">{{cite book  | last =Strobridge | first =William F. | title =Regulars in the Redwoods: The U.S. Army in Northern California, 1852–1861  | publisher =Arthur H. Clarke Company  | year =1994  | pages =255–257  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=axt6AAAAMAAJ  | isbn = 978-0-87062-214-4 }}</ref> These tensions between Native people and settlers eventually led to the [[massacre]] on [[Tuluwat Island]] in 1860.<ref name="Coy"/> The attackers, who were thought to be composed primarily of Eureka businessmen, killed as many as 250 Wiyot people. The Wiyot men had left the island during their annual World Renewal Ceremony, so the victims were primarily children, women, and elderly tribal members.<ref>Norton, Jack (1979). Genocide in northwestern California : when our worlds cried. San Francisco: Indian Historian Press.Pg 82 ASIN B0006CYZSK Retrieved July 30, 2020.</ref> Major [[Gabriel J. Rains]], Commanding Officer of [[Fort Humboldt]] at the time, reported to his commanding officer that a local group of vigilantes had resolved to "kill every peaceable Indian – man, woman, and child."<ref name="Carranco, p. 129-130">{{cite book  | last =Carranco  | first =Lynwood  | author2 =Estle Beard  | title =Genocide and Vendetta: The Round Valley Wars of Northern California  | publisher =University of Oklahoma Press  | date =November 1981  | page =[https://archive.org/details/genocidevendetta00carr/page/384 384]  | isbn =978-0-8061-1549-8  | url =https://archive.org/details/genocidevendetta00carr/page/384  }}</ref> Although the perpetrators were known, they never faced any legal consequences. Remaining Wiyot people took refuge at Fort Humboldt, but they were not given adequate living accommodations, and so half of them died from starvation or exposure.<ref name="Wiyot History" />

In 2004, the City of Eureka voted unanimously to return {{convert|45| acres}} of Tuluwat Island to the Wiyot Tribe as an act of [[Reparations (transitional justice)|reparation]], representing a historic victory for the [[Land Back]] movement.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenson |first1=Thadeus |title=Duluwat Island is Returned to the Wiyot Tribe in Historic Ceremony |url=https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2019/10/21/duluwat-island-is-returned-to-the-wiyot-tribe-in-historic-ceremony |access-date=3 September 2024 |publisher=North Coast Journal |date=12 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903001703/https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2019/10/21/duluwat-island-is-returned-to-the-wiyot-tribe-in-historic-ceremony |archive-date=September 3, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tuluwat Project |url=https://www.wiyot.us/186/Tuluwat-Project |website=Wiyot Tribe |access-date=3 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903002753/https://www.wiyot.us/186/Tuluwat-Project |archive-date=September 3, 2024 |language=EN-US |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Lumber industry===
[[File:Mill yard across the bay from Eureka.jpg|left|thumb|Mill yard across the bay from Eureka]]Eureka's first post office opened in 1853<ref name="CGN">{{California's Geographic Names|57}}</ref> just as the town began to carve its [[grid plan]] into the edge of a forest it would ultimately consume to feed the building of San Francisco and points beyond. Many of the first immigrants who arrived as prospectors were also lumbermen, and the vast potential for industry on the bay was soon realized, especially as many hopeful gold miners realized the difficulty and infrequency of striking it rich in the mines. By 1854, after only four years since the founding, seven of nine mills processing timber into marketable lumber on Humboldt Bay were within Eureka.<ref name="Coy"/> A year later, 140 lumber schooners operated in and out of Humboldt Bay moving lumber from the mills to booming cities along the Pacific coast.<ref name="Coy"/> By the time the charter for Eureka was granted in 1856, busy mills inside the city had a daily production capacity of 220,000 board feet.<ref name="Fishing Profile">{{cite web  | author1 = Pomeroy, Caroline  | author2 = Thomson, Cynthia J.  | author3 = Stevens, Melissa M.  | title = Eureka Fishing Community Profile  | work = California’s North Coast Fishing Communities Historical Perspective and Recent Trends  | publisher = UC San Diego  | date = August 2010  | url = http://www-csgc.ucsd.edu/BOOKSTORE/documents/Eureka.pdf  | access-date = May 17, 2013 | archive-date = February 2, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140202160718/http://www-csgc.ucsd.edu/BOOKSTORE/documents/Eureka.pdf  | url-status = dead  }}</ref> This level of production, which would grow significantly and continue for more than a century, secured Eureka as the "timber capital" of California. Eureka was at the apex of rapid growth of the lumber industry because of its location between huge [[Sequoia sempervirens|coast redwood]] forests and its control of the primary port facilities. Loggers brought the enormous redwood trees down. Dozens of movable narrow gauge railroads brought trainloads of logs and finished lumber products to the main rail line, which led directly to Eureka's wharf and waiting schooners. By the 1880s, railroads eventually brought the production of hundreds of mills throughout the region to Eureka, primarily for shipment through its port. After the early 1900s, shipment of products occurred by trucks, trains, and ships from Eureka, Humboldt Bay, and other points in the region, but Eureka remained the busy center of all this activity for over 120 years. These factors and others made Eureka a significant city in early California state history.{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole section which is long on "facts" and short on citations.|date=October 2014}}

===Commercial center===
[[File:Carson Mansion Eureka California.jpg|left|thumb|290px|The [[Carson Mansion]] (1886) in Eureka's [[Old Town Eureka|Old Town]]]]A bustling commercial district with ornate Victorian-style buildings rose in proximity to the waterfront, reflecting the great prosperity experienced during this era. Hundreds of these Victorian homes remain today, of which many are totally restored and a few have always remained in their original elegance and splendor. The representation of these homes in Eureka, grouped with those in nearby [[Arcata]] and the Victorian village of [[Ferndale, California|Ferndale]], are of considerable importance to the overall development of Victorian architecture built in the nation. The magnificent [[Carson Mansion]] on 2nd and M Streets is perhaps the most spectacular Victorian in the nation. The home was built between 1884 and 1886 by renowned 19th-century architects [[Samuel Newsom|Newsom and Newsom]] for [[lumber baron]] William M. Carson. This project was designed to keep mill workers and expert craftsman busy during a slow period in the industry. [[Old Town Eureka]], the original downtown center of this busy city in the 19th century, has been restored and has become a lively arts center.<ref name="Delsol">{{cite news  | last =Delsol  | first =Christine  | title =Northern exposure: Eureka is becoming well known for its Old Town art scene  | newspaper =Orange County Register  | date =April 22, 2007 | url =http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/travel/weekend/abox/article_1662541.php  | access-date =December 9, 2012 | url-status =dead  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090116013520/http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/travel/weekend/abox/article_1662541.php  | archive-date =January 16, 2009 | df =mdy-all  }}</ref> The Old Town area has been declared an [[Historic District]] by the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The district is made up of over 150 buildings, which in total represents much of Eureka's original 19th-century core commercial center. This nexus of culture behind the redwood curtain still contains much of its [[Victorian architecture]], which, if not maintained for original use as commercial buildings or homes, have been transformed into scores of unique lodgings, restaurants, and small shops featuring a burgeoning cottage industry of hand-made creations, from glassware to wood-burning stoves, and a large variety of locally created art.
{{Clear}}

===Fishing, shipping, and boating===
[[File:Eureka California Illustrated Map1902.jpg|320px|right|thumb|Illustrated map of Eureka (1902)]]Eureka's founding and livelihood was and remains linked to Humboldt Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and related industries, especially fishing. Salmon fisheries sprang up along the [[Eel River (California)|Eel River]] as early as 1851, and, within seven years, 2,000 barrels of cured fish and {{convert|50000|lb|kg}} of smoked salmon were processed and shipped out of Humboldt Bay annually from processing plants on Eureka's wharf.{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for these factoids.|date=October 2014}} In 1858, the first of many ships built in Eureka was launched, beginning an industry that spanned scores of years. The bay is also the site of the West Coast's largest [[oyster]] farming operations, which began its commercial status in the nineteenth century. Eureka is the home port to more than 100 fishing vessels (with an all-time high of over 400 in 1981) in two modern marinas which can berth approximately 400 boats within the city limits<ref name="Walters">{{cite news  | last =Walters  | first =Heidi  | title =Backyard of Boats: In Humboldt Bay, stories lurk within the rusting beaters and gleaming glories | work =North Coast Journal  | date =December 6, 2012 | url =http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2012/12/06/backyard-boats/  | access-date =  December 9, 2012}}</ref> and at least 50 more in nearby [[Fields Landing, California|Fields Landing]], which is part of Greater Eureka. Area catches historically include, among other species, salmon, tuna, Dungeness crab, and shrimp, with historic annual total fishing landings totaling about {{convert|36000000|lb|kg}} in 1981.<ref name="Fishing Profile"/>

===Chinese expulsion===
{{Main|1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka}}
Racist views of Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century led to violent attacks on them by White settlers across the West, both before and after the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]]. Economic downturns resulting in competition for jobs fed sinophobia and violent actions against Chinese immigrants, especially on the Pacific coast. In February 1885, Eureka City Councilman David Kendall was caught in the crossfire of two rival Chinese gangs and killed. A group of 600 White vigilantes forcibly and permanently evicted all 480 Chinese residents of Eureka's Chinatown.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Branson-Potts |first=Hailey |date=2022-11-12 |title=This California town ran its Chinese residents out. Now the story is finally being told |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-12/la-me-eureka-chinatown-history |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="uvm.edu">Lowen, James W., [http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/sundowntownsshow.php?id=1044 Sundown Towns, Eureka, CA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620041315/https://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/sundowntownsshow.php?id=1044 |date=June 20, 2021 }}, Illinois.edu, 1997–2010</ref>

Among those who guarded the city jail during the height of the [[Sinophobia|sinophobic]] tension was [[James Gillett]], who went on to become [[Governor of California]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.militarymuseum.org/Gillett.html| title=Californians and the Military: James Norris Gillett| publisher=California State Military Museum |access-date=August 7, 2007}}</ref> The anti-Chinese ordinance was repealed in 1959.<ref name="uvm.edu"/><ref>{{cite web |author=Easthouse, K. |date=February 27, 2003 |title=The Chinese Expulsion |url=http://www.northcoastjournal.com/022703/cover0227.html |access-date=November 26, 2006 |website=North Coast Journal}}</ref>

=== Queen City of the Ultimate West ===
[[File:Eureka Inn 7.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[Tudor Revival]]–style [[Eureka Inn]] (1922)]]
Completion of the [[Northwestern Pacific Railroad]] in 1914 provided the local lumber industry with an alternative to ships for transport of its millions of board feet of lumber to reach markets in San Francisco and beyond. It also provided the first safe land route between San Francisco and Eureka for people to venture to the Redwood Empire. As a result, Eureka's population of 7,300 swelled to 15,000 within ten years. By 1922, the [[Redwood Highway]] was completed, providing for the first reliable, direct overland route for automobiles from San Francisco.{{Citation needed|reason=There are a dozen or more factoids here, without a single citation.|date=October 2014}} By 1931, the [[Eureka Street Railway]] operated fifteen [[streetcar]]s over {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} of track.<ref name="hwd">{{cite book | author=Demoro, Harre W.| title=California's Electric Railways| publisher=[[Interurban Press]]|location=[[Glendale, California]]| year=1986| page=201| isbn=978-0-916374-74-7}}</ref> Eureka's transportation connection to the "outside" world had changed dramatically after more than half a century of stage rides or treacherous steamship passage through the Humboldt Bar and on the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco. The building of the [[Eureka Inn]] coincided with the opening of the new road to San Francisco. As a result of immense civic pride during this early-20th-century era of expansion, Eureka officially nicknamed itself "Queen City of the Ultimate West". The tourism industry, lodging to support it, and related marketing had been born.<ref name="EkaArch" />

===Post–World War II===
The timber economy of Eureka is part of the Pacific Northwest timber economy which rises and falls with boom-and-bust economic times.<ref name="Daniels">{{cite book  | last =Daniels  | first =Jean M.  | title =The Rise and Fall of the Pacific Northwest Log Export Market  | publisher =Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station General Technical Report, PNW-GTR-624, United States Department of Agriculture  | date =February 2005  | page =88  | url =http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr624.pdf  }}</ref> In Eureka, both the timber industry and commercial fishing declined after the Second World War.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The [[Columbus Day Storm]] of 1962 downed trees and caused a surplus in the domestic timber market, which caused increased shipping to foreign markets. The log trade with Japan and other Pacific Rim nations increased.<ref name="Daniels"/> Despite many rumors to the contrary, little of this wood returned to U.S. markets.<ref name="Daniels"/> In 1989, the U.S. changed log export laws, permitting lower-cost timber from public lands to be exported as raw logs overseas to help balance the federal budget.<ref name="Stein">{{cite news  | last =Stein  | first =Mark A.  | title =Reagan Log Export Plan Irks Firms, Environmentalists  | work =Los Angeles Times  | date =January 15, 1989 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-15-mn-784-story.html  | access-date = August 20, 2011 }}</ref>

After 1990, the global log market declined, and exports fell at the same time as Pacific Northwest log prices increased; leading buyers to seek less expensive logs from Canada and the [[southern United States]].<ref name="Daniels"/> Debate continues among four stakeholders: timber owners, domestic processors, consumers and communities, on the impact of log export on the local economy.<ref name="Daniels"/><ref name="Burns">{{cite news  | last =Burns  | first =Ryan  | title =Shipping Jobs to China?  | work =North Coast Journal  | date =March 31, 2011 | url =http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2011/03/31/log-roles/2/  | access-date = August 20, 2011 }}</ref> During the span of 1991 to 2001, timber harvest peaked in 1997.<ref name="HSU">{{cite web  | title =Humboldt Economic Index Timber Ground Truthing  | publisher =Cal Poly Humboldt  | url =http://www.humboldt.edu/econindex/projects/timber_groundtruthing/newlumber.gif  | access-date =August 20, 2011 | archive-date =March 19, 2012 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120319145555/http://www.humboldt.edu/econindex/projects/timber_groundtruthing/newlumber.gif  | url-status =dead  }}</ref> The local timber market was also affected by the [[PALCO|Pacific Lumber Company]] hostile takeover<ref name="TimesStandard2008-06-12">{{cite news| first = David| last = Cobb| title = Maxxam's sordid history with Pacific Lumber| date = June 12, 2008| publisher = MediaNews Group – Northern California Network| url = http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_9560701| work = Eureka Times-Standard| access-date = August 20, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120310154324/http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_9560701| archive-date = March 10, 2012| url-status = dead}}</ref> and ultimate bankruptcy.<ref name="Driscoll">{{cite news  | last =Driscoll  | first =John  | title =Deal struck by Palco, Mendocino Redwood  | work =Eureka Times-Standard  | publisher =MediaNews Group – Northern California Network  | date =May 2, 2008 | url =http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_9129189  | access-date =August 18, 2011 | archive-date =March 25, 2012 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120325105343/http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_9129189  | url-status =dead  }}</ref>

Local fisheries expanded through the 1970s and early 1980s. During the 1970s, Eureka fishermen landed more than half of the fish and shellfish produced and consumed in California.<ref name="Pomeroy">{{cite book  | last1 =Pomeroy  | first1 =Caroline   | first2=Cynthia J. |last2=Thomson |first3=Melissa M. |last3=Stevens  | title =California's North Coast Fishing Communities Historical Perspective and Recent Trends: Eureka Fishing Community Profile  | publisher =National Oceans and Atmospheres Administration California Sea Grant Program  | date = August 2010  | page = 79  | url =http://www.opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/docs/CA_NCoastFCP.pdf  |access-date = December 9, 2012 }}</ref> In 2010, between 100 and 120 commercial fishing vessels listed Eureka as homeport.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> The highest landings of all species were {{convert|36.9|e6lb|e6kg|abbr=unit}} in 1981 while the lowest were in 2001 with {{convert|9.4|e6lb|e6kg|abbr=unit}}.<ref name="Pomeroy"/>

After 1990 regulatory, economic, and other events led to a contraction of the local commercial fleet.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> In 1991, the Woodley Island marina opened, providing docking facilities for much of Eureka's commercial and recreational fleet.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> Many species are considered to be overfished.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> Recreational fishing has increased over time. Fifty percent of recreational fishermen using local boats are tourists from outside the area.<ref name="Pomeroy"/>

Commercial Pacific oyster aquaculture in Humboldt Bay produced an average of {{convert|7600000|lb|kg}} of oysters from 1956 to 1965<ref name="Pomeroy"/> an average of {{convert|844444|lb|kg}} per year. In 2004, only {{convert|600000|lb|kg}} were harvested.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> Oysters and oyster seed continue to be exported from Humboldt Bay.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> The value of the oysters and spawn is more than $6 million per year.<ref name="Pomeroy"/> Consolidation of buyers and landing facilities resulted in local vulnerability to unexpected events, leading the city to obtain grant funding for and complete the Fishermen's Terminal on the waterfront which will provide fish handling, marketing, and public spaces.<ref name="Pomeroy"/>

[[File:Ferndale Eureka RegionHistoricSeismicity.jpg|thumb|right|Historical seismicity<ref name = "woodshole">[https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/obs/rmobs_pub/html/mendocino.html Mendocino Triple Junction Offshore Northern California], A Policy for Rapid Mobilization of USGS OBS (RMOBS), Woods Hole Science Center, USGS. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref>]]

===Significant earthquakes===
{{see also|List of earthquakes in California}}

The area regularly experiences large earthquakes as it is situated on the southern end the [[Cascadia subduction zone]] and near the [[San Andreas Fault]], which interface around the [[Mendocino triple junction]].<ref name = "woodshole"/> On December 20, 2022, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Ferndale, California in Humboldt County, United States at 10:34:25 UTC, or 2:34&nbsp;a.m. PST. On January 9, 2010, a [[2010 Eureka earthquake|6.5 magnitude earthquake]] occurred about {{convert|33|mi|km}} off shore from Eureka.<ref name="latimes1">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-eureka-quake10-2010jan10,0,4204701.story |title=Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattles Eureka in Northern California |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 9, 2010 |access-date=January 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111201022/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-eureka-quake10-2010jan10%2C0%2C4204701.story |archive-date=January 11, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After two seconds, it became a violent "jumper", making objects fly;<ref name="KBCS">Radio news report, KCBS (San Francisco Bay Area)</ref> the mostly vertical shocks from the ground led to broken windows in shops, overturned shelving in homes and stores, and damage to architectural detail on a number of historic buildings.<ref name="latimes1"/><ref>[[Stephen A. Mahin|Mahin, Stephen]], [http://peer.berkeley.edu/news/2010/eureka_eq_jan_2010.html Preliminary Observations from the Ferndale Area Earthquake of Jan 9, 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412034505/http://peer.berkeley.edu/news/2010/eureka_eq_jan_2010.html |date=April 12, 2013 }} Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, January 12, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref> Local hospitals treated mostly minor related injuries, and electrical power was out over a large area. Numerous natural gas leaks occurred, but no fires resulted.<ref name="KBCS"/><ref name="Mag5.9">[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/nc71348851.php Magnitude 5.9 – OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 2010 February 04 20:20:21 UTC] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015123039/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/nc71348851.php |date=October 15, 2011 }}, USGS. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref> This was the largest recent earthquake since the [[1992 Cape Mendocino earthquakes|April 25–26, 1992 sequence]].<ref name="Historic">[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1992_04_25_26.php Historic Earthquakes (Cape Mendocino)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201081440/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1992_04_25_26.php |date=December 1, 2016 }}, USGS. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref> It was followed on February 4, 2010, by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake which struck about {{convert|35|mi|km}} northwest of the community of [[Petrolia, California|Petrolia]] and nearly {{convert|50|mi|km}} west of Eureka. The shaking was felt within a {{convert|150|mi|km|adj=on}} radius, as far north as southern Oregon and as far south as [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]].<ref name = "Historic"/><ref>Robbins, Gary, [http://sciencedude.blog.ocregister.com/2010/02/04/60-earthquake-hits-northern-california/85191/ 5.9 earthquake shakes northern California] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202408/http://sciencedude.blog.ocregister.com/2010/02/04/60-earthquake-hits-northern-california/85191/ |date=October 29, 2013 }}, Orange County Register, February 4, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref> The largest recorded in the area was the 7.2 {{M|w}} event on [[1980 Eureka earthquake|November 8, 1980]].<ref>[http://earthquaketrack.com/us-ca-eureka/biggest Biggest Earthquakes Near Eureka, California, United States], USGS, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref><ref>[http://earthquaketrack.com/quakes/1980-11-08-10-27-34-utc-7-2-19 7.2 magnitude earthquake November 08, 1980 10:27 UTC], USGS, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013</ref> The larger earthquakes can pose a tsunami threat to coastal areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/tsu400/documents/Course_1_Day_2/Session_11/NCEE_patton_dengler.pdf |title=Data |website=nctr.pmel.noaa.gov |access-date=September 26, 2019}}</ref>
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