Today, the popular tourist destination can be reached via ferry services from mainland California, with the most common departure point being the city of Long Beach.

Visitors can explore Avalon's streets, visit museums, dine in restaurants, and enjoy various water-based activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving, and boat tours.

Prior to the modern era, the island was inhabited by the Tongva, who, had the villages, Chowigna (San Pedro) and Guashna (Playa del Rey), regularly traveled back and forth to Catalina for trade.

The island was valued for its natural resources, but was also respected by the Tongva as an important "ceremonial center" with connections to the village of Povuu'nga, located in present-day Long Beach.

Although his interactions with Catalina Island are not well-documented, his main achievement was in mapping and exploring the coastline, which helped lay the foundation for future European expeditions and settlements in California.

By the 1830s, the island's entire native population had been forced to the mainland on the Spanish missions or to work as ranch hands for the many private land owners.

[2] In the late 18th century, the Franciscan friars considered building a mission on Catalina, but abandoned the idea due to the island's rugged terrain, small population size, and lack of fresh water.

[citation needed] With its numerous hidden coves and relatively low population, the island has been considered a potentially attractive location for pirates and smugglers, much like other coastal areas.

While there are historical indications that such activities may have occurred at various times, concrete documented accounts of piracy or significant smuggling operations on the island are limited.

In the face of huge debt related to the fire and the subsequent decline in tourism due to World War I, the Banning brothers were forced to sell the island in shares in 1919.

Largely due to the assistance of 200 Los Angeles County fire fighters transported by U.S. Marine Corps helicopters and U.S. Navy hovercraft, only a few structures were destroyed, though 4,750 acres (1,922 hectares) of wildland were burned.

Conducted in the vicinity of Santa Catalina Island, a well-established research project was derived to investigate how El Niño events influence the local hydrography and the growth dynamics of giant kelp populations in the area.

[32] It was concluded that this temperature rise has had diverse effects on the local hydrography, including shifts in water circulation patterns, heightened nutrient availability, and alterations in light penetration.

Then, as of 2025, due to birth control programs the herd is no longer reproducing, and in about 20 to 40 years, the American bison will disappear from Catalina Island forever.

In the waters surrounding the island, there are schools of fish like Garibaldi, California sheephead, leopard sharks, white seabass, yellowtail, bat rays, giant sea bass, and many more.

Following a successful recovery program which included captive breeding, distemper vaccinations and population monitoring, the Catalina fox community has been restored to more than 1570 in 2018.

The Conservancy also introduced wild-life proof trash cans to protect foxes from human garbage, informs boaters about the possibility and danger of wildlife stowaways, and asks dog owners to keep their animals leashed.

[56] Grazing practices on Santa Catalina Island have a historical legacy dating back to the late 19th century when ranching operations were established.

[39] The ecological effects of grazing practices raised legitimate concerns about habitat degradation and the decline of native plant species on Santa Catalina Island.

Conservationists and environmentalists responded by considering management strategies to address the negative impacts of grazing and to protect the island's unique flora.

This prompted the implementation of conservation efforts to manage and mitigate the ecological consequences of livestock grazing, with the goal of preserving the island's natural heritage.

[57] Fire is an intrinsic element of the Mediterranean climate in Southern California, and it has played a crucial role in shaping the region's ecosystems over time.

These efforts, while well-intentioned to safeguard property and human life, resulted in the accumulation of vegetation, leading to an increased risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Avalon is the island's largest population center and offers glass-bottom boat tours of the reefs and shipwrecks of the area, and scuba diving and snorkeling are popular in the clear water.

Maintained by the University of Southern California and named for Philip K. Wrigley, it consists of a 30,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) laboratory building, dormitory housing, cafeteria, a hyperbaric chamber,[71] and a large waterfront staging area complete with dock, pier, helipad, and diving lockers.

Since then, over 500 men and women have completed the 20.1 mile swim from Doctor's Cove on Catalina to the mainland near Point Vicente Lighthouse and Rancho Palos Verdes.

[98] From 2000 to 2013, 11 out of 13 annual reports released by the Natural Resources Defense Council listed Avalon as one of the 10 most chronically polluted beaches in the nation for failing state health tests as much as 73% of the time.

While the scene in the movie was filmed at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, the real island can be seen offshore in the background.

In 2004's Mountain Rock, Dear Nora mention Catalina by name twice, once in the album's titular track, and again in the song "Oxygen & the Mellow Stuff".

In 2015, comedians Fred Armisen and Bill Hader released a track entitled "Catalina Breeze" as part of a mockumentary series on a fictional 1970's soft rock band The Blue Jean Committee.