For more than 20 years, Mussel Rock, a steep stretch of oceanfront land in northern San Mateo County with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the Farallon Islands, was a garbage dump.

Two communities, Pacifica and Daly City, threw away thousands of tons of trash there starting in 1957, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, “I Love Lucy” ruled the airwaves, and environmental laws were few and far between.

Related Articles

The landfill closed in 1978. The garbage, 100 feet deep in some places, was covered with dirt roughly 4 feet thick. A barrier of boulders was built along part of the beach to slow erosion. The property became a public park where today people hike and fish. The history is fading. But the garbage remains.

Years of crashing waves, landslides and shifting geolog

See Full Page