"First Capitol of California" a Monterey Travel Page by atufft

The Monterey Bay is a very tall crescent shaped bay that frankly has a good safe harbor only near the rock outcrop known as the Monterey Peninsula. The Spanish had found the bay by ship and declared it a good place for establishing a settlement devoted supplying galleons on the Manila route. Unfortunately, the first land expedition walked out to the coast at about where Moss Landing is today, and they couldn't find any bay nor reasonable port described by the sailors. So, it was only after some confusion that the Presidio at Monterrey and the Mission at Carmel were founded along an otherwise treacherous stretch of coastline. These were the first European settlements in what is known today as Northern California, and second overall, after San Diego, in what was known then as Alta California. San Francisco Bay had yet to be discovered and ships sailing through stopped in at the Monterey customs house and pay duty for goods sold in this region, repairs ships, and take on fresh water. The current structures near the Monterey Pier date back to the 18th century, and typify the style of construction during this period. Although San Francisco and San Jose later came to dominate secular politics, Monterey remained the administrative capitol of California throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras. And for good reason as the climate in Monterey is very pleasant much of the year.

San Francisco Bay was discovered by an expedition that had its origins in Monterey, and Mission Dolores in San Francisco was founded by padres coming from Monterey. Later, experience showed that Pueblo San Jose and Mission Santa Clara were much more agriculturally productive, but these goods were often shipped out by way of San Francisco, as a way to skip the authorities in Monterey. When gold was discovered and the cities around the Bay Area grew, Monterey fell into neglect and lost its status. The capitol was moved around a bit until it finally stayed in Sacramento. In my opinion, that was a mistake. Monterey is an exceptionally beautiful setting for a capitol, whereas Sacramento resembles any of a number of midwestern state capitols.

In the late 19th century through to the 1960's Monterey was a major port of processing fish. Sardines, Tuna, and numerous other fish were caught in nets and brought to Cannery Row in Monterey. Today, all of those canneries have been closed and turned into tourist attractions. The Pier has more restaurants than port facilities, but the rich sea life of Monterey Bay is recovering. The deep submarine canyons are home to one of the world's richest forest of sea kelp, and so hundreds of feet tall kelp provide the basis for a complex aquatic ecosystem. The modern Monterey Bay Aquarium may not be the world's largest, but is does pump fresh seawater for a large number of aquatic exhibits, including sea otters, penguins, tidal sea life, and many kinds of fish.