Trinidad Bay is located on the northern California coast about 300 miles north of San Francisco. It is a natural, open-water bay protected from west and northwest waves and weather by Trinidad Head. The Trinidad Bay is unique in a number of ways:
- The Bay is home to diverse and abundant marine life
- The Bay has been designated as an Area of Special Biological Significance or ASBS
- The Bay hosts the Trinidad Harbor, Pier and boat launch
- The Bay is the Gateway to the California Coastal National Monument
- The Bay and surrounding coastal areas have a rich cultural heritage
- The Bay water quality conditions are monitored at the Pier and reported in real time by CenCOOS here.
The Trinidad coastal watersheds include a number of creeks that flow into the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Trinidad Bay and Area of Special Biological Significance. These creeks are shown on the map below.
These creeks carry water and everything else picked up by the rain draining into the creeks, including pollutants from vehicles, gardening and household chemicals, pets, malfunctioning septic systems, roads and soil-disturbing activities.
The Trinidad-Westhaven Watershed Plan page outlines these watershed issues, and the actions needed to address the problems identified. The Watershed Projects page describes the current & completed watershed projects as well as upcoming projects.