In 1852 explorers discovered gold and other precious metals in the rivers and along the beaches of this area. Initially, settlement was concentrated along the coast and depended primarily on water transporation. Today water transportation of a different sort is popular here. The area has several times played host to U.S. championships for windsurfing.

(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "County Fairs," October 1997, National Geographic magazine)