Carson

History

For thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, Tongva Indians lived in the area. Carson lies on part of the Spanish land grant Rancho San Pedro, from the King of Spain in 1784. The Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum on Alameda Street in Compton (not far from Carson's city limits) is the historic ranch home of the grantees Juan Dominguez and Manuel Dominguez. Carson was named after George Henry Carson, who married a daughter of the Dominguez family in 1857 and managed the rancho. The first oil drilling took place in 1921 at Dominguez Hill, on the northwest side of the Rancho San Pedro (also called Rancho Domínguez), site of the famous battle during the Mexican–American War called the Battle of Rancho Domínguez in 1846. The mineral rights to this property were owned by Carson Estate Company, the Hellman family, the Dominguez Estate Company, and the Burnham Exploration Company of Frederick Russell Burnham. On September 7, 1923, Burnham Exploration partnering with Union Oil brought in the first producer on the site: Callender No. 1-A well at a depth of and . In 2011, Shell was ordered by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to clean up the Carousel Tract neighborhood after the discovery of benzene and methane gas contamination, as well as soil and groundwater contamination. In 2021, Carson was subjected to an air pollution event as a result of hydrogen sulfide emanating from the nearby Dominguez Channel.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Carson has an area of , of it being land and , or 1.29%, being water. Carson is bordered by West Rancho Dominguez on the north, Rancho Dominguez and Long Beach on the southeast, West Carson on the southwest and Compton to the north. Bixby Marshland, a wetland habitat, is located in Carson. Carson experiences a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb), similar to that of the Los Angeles Basin with noticeably cooler temperatures during the summer due to the nearby Pacific Ocean, which is approximately away. Rainfall is scarce during the summer in Carson but receives enough rainfall throughout the year to avoid Köppen's BSh (semi-arid climate). Carson, like many of the Southern California coastal areas, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called "June Gloom." This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning which yield to sun by early afternoon.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Bladder kelp

  Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C.Agardh · Phaeophyceae
  174,885
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  58,141
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  55,138
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  54,097
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  46,297
• Allen's Hummingbird

  Selasphorus sasin (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  44,681
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  42,335
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  40,311

Largest nearby schools

• Downey High
  High · Downey · 4,063 students · 23.4:1 ratio
• Polytechnic High
  High · Long Beach · 3,952 students · 23.7:1 ratio
• Paramount High
  High · Paramount · 3,737 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Wilson High
  High · Long Beach · 3,515 students · 23.8:1 ratio
• Warren (Earl) High
  High · Downey · 3,437 students · 23.7:1 ratio
• Millikan High
  High · Long Beach · 3,311 students · 24:1 ratio
• Redondo Union High
  High · Redondo Beach · 3,005 students · 26.8:1 ratio
• Lakewood High
  High · Lakewood · 2,761 students · 22.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.16 — 2026-10-09
  2 km SW of Signal Hill, CA
• M 2.7 — 2026-10-08
  2 km WNW of Fontana, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-10-05
  31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
• M 2.81 — 2026-10-05
  32 km SW of Dana Point, CA
• M 3.48 — 2026-10-05
  31 km SW of Dana Point, CA
• M 3.81008714964485 — 2026-09-30
  4 km SE of Piru, CA