Point Sal State Beach is a secluded section of Pacific shoreline near Guadalupe in northwestern Santa Barbara County, protected by California and notable for a headland exposing part of the Coast Range Ophiolite. Named in 1792 by George Vancouver, it later saw brief commercial prominence after a wharf built in 1871 made it a major shipping point south of San Francisco until rough seas destroyed the structure in 1877. California acquired the land in 1940, and later military expansion nearby limited access and prohibited camping. Today, its isolation, native plants, marine mammals, and foot-only access help preserve it as a rugged natural coast.