Malibu

History

The area is within the Ventureño Chumash territory, which extended from the San Joaquin Valley to San Luis Obispo to Malibu, as well as several islands off the southern coast of California. The Chumash called the settlement Humaliwo or "the surf sounds loudly". The city's name derives from this, as the "Hu" syllable is not stressed. Humaliwo was an important regional center in prehistoric times. The village, which is identified as CA-LAN-264, was occupied from approximately 2500 BCE. It was the second-largest Chumash coastal settlement by the Santa Monica Mountains, after Muwu (Point Mugu). This pre-colonial village was next to Malibu Lagoon and is now part of the State Park. Humaliwo was considered an important political center, but there were additional minor settlements in the area. One village, Ta'lopop, was a few miles up Malibu Canyon from Malibu Lagoon. Research shows that Humaliwo had ties to other pre-colonial villages, including Hipuk (in Westlake Village), Lalimanux (by Conejo Grade) and Huwam (in Bell Canyon). Conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo is believed to have moored at Malibu Lagoon, at the mouth of Malibu Creek, to obtain fresh water in 1542. The Spanish presence returned with the California mission system, and the area was part of Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit—a land grant—in 1802. Baptismal records list 118 individuals from Humaliwo. That ranch passed intact to Frederick Hastings Rindge in 1891. He and his wife, Rhoda May Knight Rindge, staunchly protected their land. After his death, May guarded their property zealously by hiring guards to evict all trespassers and fighting a lengthy court battle to prevent the building of a Southern Pacific railroad line through the ranch. Interstate Commerce Commission regulations would not support a…

Geography

Malibu's eastern end borders the community of Topanga, which separates it from the city of Los Angeles. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , over 99% of it is land. Malibu's dry brush chaparral and steep clay slopes make it prone to fires, floods, and mudslides. Beaches on the Malibu coast include Big Rock Beach, Broad Beach, County Line Beach, Dan Blocker Beach, La Costa Beach, Las Flores Beach, Malibu Beach, Point Dume Beach, Surfrider Beach, Topanga Beach, and Zuma Beach. State parks and beaches on the Malibu coast include Leo Carrillo State Beach and Park, Malibu Creek State Park, Point Mugu State Park, and Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, along with individual beaches such as El Matador Beach, El Pescador Beach, La Piedra Beach, Carbon Beach, Surfrider Beach, Westward Beach, and Escondido Beach. Paradise Cove, Pirates Cove, Trancas, and Encinal Bluffs are along the coast in Malibu. Point Dume forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista stretching to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island. Like all California beaches, Malibu beaches are public below the mean high tide line. Many large public beaches are easily accessible, but such access is sometimes limited for some of the smaller and more remote beaches. The Malibu Coast lies on the fringe of an extensive chaparral and woodland wilderness area, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Various environmental elements collectively create a recipe for natural disasters: the mountainous and geologically unstable terrain; seasonal rainstorms that result in dense vegetation growth; seasonal dry Santa Ana winds; and a naturally dry topography and climate. The Malibu coast has seen dozens of…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Bladder kelp

  Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C.Agardh · Phaeophyceae
  16,243
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  15,419
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  13,864
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  11,437
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  11,277
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  10,714
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  10,390
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,318

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2026-09-18
  11 km N of Fillmore, CA
• M 2.94 — 2026-09-17
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA
• M 2.56 — 2026-09-13
  27 km SSE of Malibu, CA
• M 2.65 — 2026-09-12
  4 km E of Lennox, CA
• M 2.62 — 2026-09-12
  5 km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
• M 3.07 — 2026-09-06
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA