In the 1950’s, the beach below Bolsa Chica became known as Tin Can Beach due to the 300-ton piles of trash that had been improperly discarded of and left there. Campers and squatters lived in the area for months at a time in makeshift shacks and shanties constructed of cardboard, tarpaper, and scrap lumber. When the state purchased the beach in 1961, it was cleaned and established as the Bolsa Chica State Beach, which is now one of the most popular beach attractions in California.
