Humboldt County
Much of the land in the area is owned by the federal government, and in 1970, more than 60,000 acres (240 km²) were designated the King Range National Conservation Area.
Because of the rugged and remote location, the small towns of Shelter Cove, Whitethorn and Petrolia are popular with those looking for quiet respite. The area is known for its black sand beaches, which get their color from the significant tectonic activity of one continental and two oceanic plates meeting just offshore:
A common misconception about this black sand beach is that it is volcanic in origin. Actually, the sand comes from the dark colored sandstone called greywacke and an older compressed shale. —Black Sands Beach Head Tourist Information Placard,Read more about this topic: Lost Coast
Famous quotes containing the words humboldt and/or county:
“If we glance at the most important revolutions in history, we see at once that the greatest number of these originated in the periodical revolutions of the human mind.”
—Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767–1835)
“I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name,—if ten honest men only,—ay, if one HONEST man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America. For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)