Editing Monterey, California (section)

== Geography ==
{{one source|section|date=June 2012}}
[[File:Monterey rock break (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|Rock sea wall near Coast Guard Station bordering [[Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary]].]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has an area of {{convert|30.4|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|21.9|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|8.5|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}} (28.05%) is water. Sand deposits in the northern coastal area comprise the sole known mineral resources. The city has several distinct districts, such as [[New Monterey, Monterey, California|New Monterey]], [[Del Monte, Monterey, California|Del Monte]], and [[Cannery Row]].

Local soil is [[Quaternary]] [[Alluvium]]. Common soil series include the Baywood fine sand on the east side, Narlon loamy sand on the west side, Sheridan coarse sandy loam on hilly terrain, and the pale Tangair sand on hills supporting closed-cone pine habitat. The city is in a moderate to high seismic risk zone, the principal threat being the active [[San Andreas Fault]] approximately {{convert|26|mi|km}} to the east. The Monterey Bay fault, which tracks {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} to the north, is also active, as is the Palo Colorado fault {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=in}} to the south. Also nearby, minor but potentially active, are the Berwick Canyon, Seaside, Tularcitos and Chupines faults.

Monterey Bay's maximum credible [[tsunami]] for a 100-year interval has been calculated as a wave {{convert|9|ft|m|spell=in}} high. The considerable undeveloped area in the northwest part of the city has a high potential for landslides and erosion.

The city is adjacent to the [[Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary]], a federally protected ocean area extending {{convert|276|mi|abbr=on}} along the coast. Sometimes this sanctuary is confused with the local bay which is also termed Monterey Bay.
[[File:Lake El Estero, Monterey, CA, 4 December, 2011.JPG|thumb|right|[[Lake El Estero]]]]
[[Soquel Canyon State Marine Conservation Area]], [[Portuguese Ledge State Marine Conservation Area]], [[Pacific Grove Marine Gardens State Marine Conservation Area]], [[Lovers Point State Marine Reserve]], [[Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area]] and [[Asilomar State Marine Reserve]] are [[marine protected area]]s established by the state of California in Monterey Bay. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

The California [[sea otter]], a threatened subspecies, inhabits the local Monterey Bay marine environment, and a field station of [[The Marine Mammal Center]] is located in Monterey to support sea rescue operations in this section of the California coast. The rare San Joaquin [[kit fox]] is found in Monterey's oak-forest and [[chaparral]] habitats. The chaparral, found mainly on the city's drier eastern slopes, hosts such plants as [[manzanita]], [[chamise]] and [[ceanothus]]. Additional species of interest (that is, potential candidates for endangered species status) are the Salinas [[kangaroo rat]] and the silver-sided legless lizard.
[[File:Beach - Monterey, CA - DSC06777.JPG|thumb|left|McAbee Beach.]]
There is a variety of natural habitat in Monterey: littoral zone and sand dunes; [[closed-cone pine forest]]; and [[Monterey Cypress]]. There are no dairy farms in the city of Monterey; the semi-hard cheese known as [[Monterey Jack cheese|Monterey Jack]] originated in nearby [[Carmel Valley, California]], and is named after businessman and land speculator [[David Jacks (businessman)|David Jacks]].

The closed-cone pine habitat is dominated by [[Monterey pine]], [[Knobcone pine]] and [[Bishop pine]], and contains the rare [[Arctostaphylos montereyensis|Monterey manzanita]]. In the early 20th century the botanist [[Willis Linn Jepson]] characterized Monterey Peninsula's forests as the "most important silva ever", and encouraged [[Samuel Finley Brown Morse|Samuel F.B. Morse]] (a century younger than the inventor [[Samuel F. B. Morse]]) of the Del Monte Properties Company to explore the possibilities of preserving the unique forest communities.<ref>U.S. [[Federal Register]]: August 2, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 148), Pages 39326-39337</ref> The dune area is no less important, as it hosts endangered species such as the vascular plants [[Cordylanthus rigidus|Seaside birds beak]], [[Hickman's potentilla]] and Eastwood's [[Ericameria]]. Rare plants also inhabit the chaparral: Hickman's onion, Yadon's piperia (''[[Piperia yadonii]]'') and Sandmat manzanita. Other rare plants in Monterey include Hutchinson's [[delphinium]], Tidestrom [[Lupinus|lupine]], [[Gardner's yampah]] and [[Polygonum aviculare|Knotweed]], the latter perhaps already extinct.
[[File:Seals playing at the beach.jpg|thumb|[[California sea lion]]s in Monterey.]]
Monterey's noise pollution has been mapped to define the principal sources of noise and to ascertain the areas of the population exposed to significant levels. Principal sources are the [[Monterey Regional Airport]], [[State Route 1 (California)|State Route 1]] and major arterial streets such as Munras Avenue, Fremont Street, Del Monte Boulevard, and Camino Aguajito. While most of Monterey is a quiet residential city, a moderate number of people in the northern part of the city are exposed to aircraft noise at levels in excess of 60&nbsp;dB on the [[CNEL|Community Noise Equivalent Level]] (CNEL) scale. The most intense source is State Route 1: all residents exposed to levels greater than 65 CNEL—about 1,600 people—live near State Route 1 or one of the principal arterial streets.

===Climate===
[[File:Beach walk.JPG|thumb|left|Portion of the [[Monterey Peninsula]] Recreational Trail, between Monterey Harbor and the Municipal Marina.]]
Monterey's climate is regulated by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a [[warm-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csb'') although with temperatures resembling an [[oceanic climate]]. The city's average high temperatures range from {{convert|58.2|°F}} in December to {{convert|68.2|°F}} in September. Average annual precipitation is {{convert|17.11|in|mm}}, with most occurring between October and April; little to no precipitation falls during the summer. There is an average of 72.1 days with measurable precipitation annually. Average temperatures in Monterey are similar to average temperatures found in other parts of the world with oceanic climates, including [[Puerto Williams]], [[Chile]], [[Ushuaia]], [[Argentina]], much of [[New Zealand]], the [[Atlantic]] coast of [[Spain]], [[southeastern Alaska]] and the western coast of [[Norway]].
Summers in Monterey are often cool and foggy. The cold surface waters cause even summer nights to be unusually cool for the latitude; this is in distinct contrast to the much warmer summer days and nights of the U.S. east coast. The extreme moderation of summer temperatures is further underlined by the fact that Monterey is geographically situated at a similar latitude within California as [[Death Valley]]⁠{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}one of the hottest areas in the world. 
[[File:Monterey, CA, USA - panoramio (5).jpg|thumb|right|San Carlos Beach Park.]]
During winter, snow occasionally falls in the higher elevations of the [[Santa Lucia Mountains]] and [[Gabilan Mountains]] that overlook Monterey, but snow in Monterey itself is extremely rare. A few unusual events in January 1962, February 1976, and December 1997 brought a light coating of snow to Monterey. In March 2006, a total of {{convert|3.2|in|cm}} fell in Monterey, including {{convert|2.2|in|m|sigfig=2}} on March 10, 2006. The snowfall on January 21, 1962, of {{convert|1.5|in|m|sigfig=2}}, is remembered for delaying the [[Bing Crosby]] golf tournament in nearby [[Pebble Beach, California|Pebble Beach]].

The record lowest temperature was {{convert|26|F|C|1}} on December 24, 1998, and January 13, 2007. Annually, there are an average of 1.3 days with highs that reach or exceed {{convert|90|°F|1|disp=or}} and an average of 1.5 days with lows at or below the freezing mark.

Combining the records for Monterey and Monterey WFO, the wettest "rain year" on record has been from July 1997 to June 1998 with {{convert|47.15|in|mm|1|disp=or}} of precipitation, and the driest from July 2013 to June 2014 with {{convert|7.67|in|mm|1|disp=or}}. The most precipitation in one month was {{convert|13.73|in|mm|1|disp=or}} in February 1998. The record maximum 24-hour precipitation was {{convert|3.55|in|mm|1|disp=or}} on December 11, 2014.

{{Weather box
| location = Monterey, California, 1991&ndash;2020 normals, extremes 1995&ndash;2019
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 80
| Feb record high F = 86
| Mar record high F = 86
| Apr record high F = 92
| May record high F = 97
| Jun record high F = 96
| Jul record high F = 86
| Aug record high F = 91
| Sep record high F = 101
| Oct record high F = 104
| Nov record high F = 91
| Dec record high F = 79
| year record high F = 104
| Jan avg record high F = 73.4
| Feb avg record high F = 73.8
| Mar avg record high F = 76.0
| Apr avg record high F = 78.4
| May avg record high F = 78.7
| Jun avg record high F = 79.2
| Jul avg record high F = 77.3
| Aug avg record high F = 79.7
| Sep avg record high F = 84.7
| Oct avg record high F = 86.6
| Nov avg record high F = 79.0
| Dec avg record high F = 71.0
| year avg record high F = 78.15
| Jan high F = 59.3
| Feb high F = 59.5
| Mar high F = 60.6
| Apr high F = 61.5
| May high F = 62.9
| Jun high F = 64.8
| Jul high F = 65.8
| Aug high F = 66.9
| Sep high F = 68.2
| Oct high F = 66.9
| Nov high F = 62.5
| Dec high F = 58.2
| year high F = 63.1
| Jan mean F = 51.2
| Feb mean F = 51.9
| Mar mean F = 53.2
| Apr mean F = 54.4
| May mean F = 56.5
| Jun mean F = 58.6
| Jul mean F = 60.1
| Aug mean F = 60.9
| Sep mean F = 61.1
| Oct mean F = 58.8
| Nov mean F = 54.2
| Dec mean F = 50.4
| year mean F = 55.9
| Jan low F = 43.1
| Feb low F = 44.4
| Mar low F = 45.8
| Apr low F = 47.3
| May low F = 50.2
| Jun low F = 52.4
| Jul low F = 54.4
| Aug low F = 54.9
| Sep low F = 54.1
| Oct low F = 50.8
| Nov low F = 46.0
| Dec low F = 42.7
| year low F = 48.8
| Jan avg record low F = 34.1
| Feb avg record low F = 37.0
| Mar avg record low F = 38.4
| Apr avg record low F = 41.0
| May avg record low F = 44.2
| Jun avg record low F = 47.1
| Jul avg record low F = 50.1
| Aug avg record low F = 50.2
| Sep avg record low F = 48.2
| Oct avg record low F = 43.9
| Nov avg record low F = 38.2
| Dec avg record low F = 33.6
| year avg record low F = 31.7
| Jan record low F = 26
| Feb record low F = 33
| Mar record low F = 35
| Apr record low F = 38
| May record low F = 41
| Jun record low F = 44
| Jul record low F = 47
| Aug record low F = 47
| Sep record low F = 44
| Oct record low F = 40
| Nov record low F = 33
| Dec record low F = 26
| year record low F = 26
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 3.45
| Feb precipitation inch = 3.46
| Mar precipitation inch = 2.89
| Apr precipitation inch = 1.15
| May precipitation inch = 0.50
| Jun precipitation inch = 0.14
| Jul precipitation inch = 0.02
| Aug precipitation inch = 0.09
| Sep precipitation inch = 0.08
| Oct precipitation inch = 0.83
| Nov precipitation inch = 1.64
| Dec precipitation inch = 2.86
| year precipitation inch = 17.11
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.7
|Feb precipitation days = 11.6
|Mar precipitation days = 10.1
|Apr precipitation days = 7.0
|May precipitation days = 3.9
|Jun precipitation days = 2.1
|Jul precipitation days = 1.1 
|Aug precipitation days = 2.0
|Sep precipitation days = 1.5
|Oct precipitation days = 4.2
|Nov precipitation days = 7.7
|Dec precipitation days = 10.2
|year precipitation days=

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00045802&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Monterey WFO, CA
|access-date = February 11, 2023
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = National Weather Service<ref name = NOWData>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=mtr
|publisher = National Weather Service
|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS San Francisco
|access-date = February 11, 2023
}}
</ref>
}}