Located 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Downtown Los Angeles, it is bordered by Bolsa Chica Basin State Marine Conservation Area on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, by Seal Beach on the northwest, by Westminster on the north, by Fountain Valley on the northeast, by Costa Mesa on the east, and by Newport Beach on the southeast.

[11] The nearby village of Genga, shared with the Acjachemen, was located across the Santa Ana River in what became Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

[17] At one time, an encyclopedia company gave away free parcels of land (with the purchase of a complete set for $126) in the Huntington Beach area.

Huntington Beach was primarily agricultural in its early years with crops such as lima beans, asparagus, peppers, celery and sugar beets.

South of Downtown, the Talbert, Brookhurst and Magnolia Marshes, which lie across the street from Huntington State Beach, had restoration completed in 2010.

[33] The harbor entrance for Anaheim Bay is sometimes restricted by the United States Navy, which loads ships with munitions at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station to the north of the main channel.

Katrina Foley, an Orange County supervisor, tweeted that the oil spilled from Platform Elly, operated by Beta Offshore, a Long Beach unit of Houston-based Amplify Energy.

Huntington State Beach is home to a number of species of birds, including gulls, willet, long-billed fletcher, elegant teens and reddish egret, which are rare on the West Coast, according to Ben Smith, a biologist and environmental consultant for the county.

"[57][58] As of 2007[update] the city was discussing closing off Main Street to cars from PCH through the retail shopping and restaurant areas, making it a pedestrian-only zone.

The Bureau is actively considering registration of the Surf City USA trademark in several different countries and anticipates a growing market for its branded products overseas in coming years.

Originally a fine dining restaurant opened by Harry Bakre in 1929, the Golden Bear became a nightclub in 1963 and hosted famous-name entertainment until it was demolished in 1986.

The list of artists who performed there includes BB King, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, Steve Martin, Charles Bukowski, The Ramones and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

[74] A duathlon (swim/run) hosted by the Bolsa Chica & Huntington State Beach Lifeguards takes place in July, early at dawn.

The race begins at the Santa Ana River Jetties and ends at Warner Avenue, Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard day camps are held which teaches pre-adolescents and adolescents ocean swimming, running, and first-aid medical knowledge.

The Beachcruiser Meet is held in March, attracting over 250 classic cars displayed along Main Street and the Pier parking lot.

The Tuesday Surf City Nights is a community-spirited event that features a farmer's market, unique entertainment, food, kiddie rides and a carnival atmosphere.

Freeth had been demonstrating surfing in Southern California since 1907 when he was hired first by Abbot Kinney in Venice, then Henry E. Huntington in Redondo Beach.

Sandbars dramatically shift during the spring, summer and fall seasons, thus creating excellent surf conditions with a combination South/West/Northwest swell.

Due to the Santa Ana River jetties located at the southernmost end of the beach, large sandbars extend across and upcoast, forcing swells to break extremely fast and hollow.

Central Park is located between Gothard and Edwards Streets to the east and west, and Slater and Ellis Avenues to the north and south.

Thick forests encircling the park are supplemented with Australian trees, particularly Blue Gum Eucalyptus, a high water use plant.

[95] The world's second oldest[96] disc golf course is available in the park, as are two small dining areas, a sports complex for adult use, and the Shipley Nature Center.

The Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve is a natural wetland which is over 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) and contains numerous walking trails and scenic routes.

[115] Members of the Marine Safety division have a wide array of equipment available for their use including 10 Toyota Tacoma patrol trucks, 3 Toyota Tundra patrol trucks, search and rescue SCUBA gear, 3 29-foot Crystalliner twin-engine rescue vessels, 3 Yamaha Waverunners, rigid-hulled inflatable boats and all-terrain vehicles.

Huntington Beach is the home of Golden West College, which offers two-year associates of arts degrees and transfer programs to four-year universities.

The city is mentioned in the Beach Boys song "Surfin' Safari", Jan and Dean's "Surf Route 101", and "Surfer Joe" by The Surfaris.

[151] Huntington Beach has 1,121 lane miles of public streets and includes facilities managed by Caltrans which supports a balanced transportation system use of all types of vehicular, transit, bicycle and pedestrian activity.

There have been serious discussions to eliminate the need for flood insurance and this requirement has already been waived in some areas and may one day no longer be considered a credible threat.

Since it is a seaside city, Huntington Beach has had tsunami warnings, storm surge (its pier has been rebuilt three times), sewage spills, tornadoes and waterspouts.