Point Mugu
{{Short description|Promontory within Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County, California}}
{{about|the geographic site|the park|Point Mugu State Park|the naval base|Naval Air Station Point Mugu}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox landform
| name = Point Mugu
| type = Cape
| photo = Point Mugu September 2013 013.jpg
| photo_width =
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = Pacific Ocean at Point Mugu
| map = USA California
| map_width =
| map_caption = Location within California
| map_alt =
| relief = 1
| label = Point Mugu
| label_position =
| mark =
| marker_size =
| location = Point Mugu State Park, Ventura County, California
| coordinates = {{coord|34|5|8|N|119|3|36|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| water_bodies = Pacific Ocean
| elevation_ft = 46
| free_label_1 = GNIS feature ID
| free_data_1 = 247643{{gnis|247643|Point Mugu}}
}}
Point Mugu ({{IPAc-en|m|uː|ˈ|ɡ|uː}}, Chumash: Muwu){{Cite book
| edition = Revised
| publisher = EZ Nature Books
| isbn = 0936784156
| last1 = McCall
| first1 = Lynne
| last2 = Perry
| first2 = Rosalind
| title = California’s Chumash Indians : a project of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Education Center
| location = San Luis Obispo, Calif
| year = 2002
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/californiaschuma00mcca
}} is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term "Muwu", meaning "beach", which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in his journals in 1542.[http://www.sepcopublishing.com/Ventura/NavyMagu1.html Navy Pt Magu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212161427/http://www.sepcopublishing.com/Ventura/NavyMagu1.html |date=February 12, 2005 }}{{cbignore}} Mugu Lagoon is a salt marsh just upcoast from the promontory within the Naval Base Ventura County formerly called the Naval Air Station Point Mugu.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-11-mn-21695-story.html |title=Point Mugu Navy Base Gets OK to Fortify Against Natural Foe |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |last=Polakovic |first=Gary|date=September 11, 1998 |access-date=21 August 2016}}
History
The name derives from Muwu (Ventureño: "Beach"),Green, Mitchell (2017). The Rock Formations of California. Lulu, Inc. Page 55. {{ISBN|9781387146758}}.Lockeretz, David (2010). The Nobody Hikes in L.A. Guidebook. Lulu, Inc., p. 15; {{ISBN|9780557880256}}. which was the name of a Chumash village at Point Mugu during pre-colonial times. The village of Muwu (CA-VEN-11{{Clarify |date=February 2020 |reason=Is this an ISO code, census code, or ...?}}) had the highest population of any coastal Chumash settlements along the Santa Monica Mountains.Gamble, Lynn H. (2011). The Chumash World at European Contact: Power, Trade, and Feasting Among Complex Hunter-Gatherers. University of California Press, p. 108; {{ISBN|9780520271241}}. Muwu was a ceremonial center and the ancient capital of Lulapin, a major political unit of Chumash territory which stretched from modern day Los Angeles County to Santa Barbara in the north. The territory stretched for {{cvt|60.|mi}} along the coast, and at least half as far inland.Fowler, William R. (1991). The Formation of Complex Society in Southeastern Mesoamerica. CRC Press, p. 103; {{ISBN|9780849388316}}. Mission records indicate that 191 inhabitants were baptized in Muwu, more than any other Chumash village by the Santa Monica Mountains. The last chief of Muwu, Mariano Wataitset, son of Halashu (Big Chief of Muwu), was baptized at Mission San Buenaventura in 1802.Gamble, Lynn H. (2011). The Chumash World at European Contact: Power, Trade, and Feasting Among Complex Hunter-Gatherers. University of California Press, p. 105; {{ISBN|9780520271241}}.
On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed off of point Mugu, killing all 88 people on board the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating the flight.{{cite web|date=December 30, 2002|title=Aircraft Accident Report, Loss of Control and Impact with Pacific Ocean Alaska Airlines Flight 261 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS About 2.7 Miles {{bracket|{{convert|2.7|mi|disp=out}}}} North of Anacapa Island, California, January 31, 2000|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR0201.pdf|access-date=September 9, 2016|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board|id=NTSB/AAR-02/01}}
Mugu Rock
File:Point Mugu September 2013 010.jpg
Mugu Rock is a distinctive feature of the coastal headland promontory that has been featured in many film shoots and television commercials. This igneous dike marks the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Rancho Guadalasca boundary. The rock was formed when the roadway was cut through the near-vertical ridge of resistant volcanic rock in 1937. A route had been blasted out around the promontory in 1923–24 to complete Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and the Oxnard Plain. This replaced a narrow path around the rock and much of that roadway has since eroded away.{{cite web| title=When PCH Blasted through Point Mugu |first=Nathan |last=Masters |date=July 28, 2014 |work=KCET |department= Lost LA|url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/when-pch-blasted-through-point-mugu |access-date=22 May 2016}}
The site is a popular but dangerous place for fishing, sightseeing, cliff diving, and rock climbing up the sheer sides of the rock.{{cite news|publisher=Ventura County Star|url=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jan/16/despite-hazard-mugu-rock-cliff-is-a-lure-for/|date=2008-01-16|title=Despite hazard, Mugu Rock cliff is a lure for fishermen|author=John Scheibe|access-date=2008-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201115129/http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jan/16/despite-hazard-mugu-rock-cliff-is-a-lure-for/|archive-date=2008-12-01|url-status=dead}} On Thanksgiving Day 2008, three young men from Oxnard were swept to sea and killed by a rogue wave while surf watching from Mugu Rock.{{cite news |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-29-me-drown29-story.html|title=3 who died off Point Mugu are ID'd |date=2008-11-29}}
Directly east of Mugu Rock is Point Mugu State Beach Campsite.{{Cite news|url=http://www.gohikeit.com/2017/08/point-mugu-malibu-camping.html/|title=Point Mugu State Beach Camping {{!}} Best Places to Camp in Los Angeles|date=2017-08-01|work=Go Hike It|access-date=2017-08-08|language=en-US}} The park has {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} of shoreline and more than {{convert|70|mi|km|sigfig=2}} of hiking trails.[http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=630 "Point Mugu State Park"] California Department of Parks and Recreation
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References
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{{commons category|Mugu Rock}}
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{{California Central Coast}}
Category:Geography of Oxnard, California
Category:Rock formations of California
Category:Santa Monica Mountains