Gorda, California


Gorda is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located 3 miles south of Cape San Martin, at an elevation of 148 feet. It is one of the three small settlements of filling stations, restaurants, and motels located along State Route 1 on the Big Sur coast. The ZIP Code is 93920, but mail must be addressed to Big Sur, and the community is inside area code 805.

History

The fresh springs in Gorda were used by Native American tribes. The first settlement by Westerners was in 1878, when a stagecoach stop was built in Gorda. The settlement expanded with the Gold Rush of the 1880s. The town is now the location of the Gorda Springs Ocean Side Resort.
Gorda is derived from the Spanish word for "fat" or "well-fed".
A post office operated at Gorda from 1893 to 1923, moving in 1910.
In May, 2017, a massive landslide took place just south of Gorda, severing Highway 1; the world-famous coastal route for through traffic between northern and southern California was closed. This had a considerable negative economic impact for tourism between Monterey and Morro Bay. A CALTRANS study indicated that rerouting the highway around the slide was preferred over other alternatives. Until the slide was repaired, the only route into Gorda beginning in the south was via a lengthy detour over the narrow, winding Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. Hwy SR 1 was re-opened to the south of town in July 2018.

Government

At the county level, Gorda is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter.
In the California State Legislature, Gorda is in, and in.
In the United States House of Representatives, Gorda is in

Fuel prices

As of April 26, 2008, Gorda had the highest gasoline prices in the United States at $6.70 per gallon. Part of this cost goes to subsidize the 100 gallon per day Diesel generator fuel bill for the town.

Geography

Under the Köppen climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an average temperature above in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between. Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third the rainfall of the wettest winter month, and with less than of precipitation in a summer month.

Climate