Week 3 Project 3b - Beaches: Malibu and Pismo

Malibu Beach

Connection to Humanities
Malibu is a beautiful strip of beach in Malibu, CA that attracts many movie stars and visitors. It is so well known that many popular products have been named after it, such as: Malibu Barbie, Malibu Rum, Chevrolet Malibu, and the Malibu Grand Prix. Malibu has also been popularized by becoming the subject of numerous movies, television shows, and songs.



Pismo Beach

Connection to Humanities
Pismo beach is known as the clam capital of California! Clam insignias and monuments can be seen throughout the beach. Because of this, Pismo hosts many themed weekends such as the Clam and Jazz festivals which attract thousands of visitors each year. Along with their many shops, restaurants, and camping stops, Pismo beach is one of the top vacation spots on the Central California Coast.


Assumptions/Stereotypes
Malibu is often associated with rich upper class snobs. This can often be misinterpreted because of the many stars that own or have owned homes in the area, such as Jennifer Aniston and Leonardo DiCaprio. Pismo Beach is often known as the "tourist beach." It is seen as a place littered with college students wreaking havoc during the summers (due to the nearby colleges) or large families vacationing.


Similarities
Both beaches are popular tourist destinations and have also been the subject of many popular TV shows and movies, such as: Two and a Half Men and Hannah Montana. They are both home to well known colleges, Pepperdine and Cal Poly.


Differences
Malibu is much larger than Pismo. Malibu has 21 square miles of land while Pismo only has 3.6 square miles. Malibu also has over 12,000 residents while Pismo only has 9,000. Malibu is surrounded by forests and mountains while Pismo is surrounded by rolling hills.


Questioning
I read that the name "Pismo" originated from the Chumash Indian word that meant "blobs of tar." I am very interested in how it became known as Pismo Beach considering tar was found naturally all over the California coast, not just in that area.

Classmate
I learned from Jeni Lyons that The San Diego Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world. And that it is one of the world's few major zoos to have almost all of its major exhibits be open-air.


Sources:
Malibu -
Wikipedia
Beach California

Pismo -
Wikipedia
Beach California