Point Mugu, California

Point Mugu is a geographical promontory on the Pacific coast in Ventura County, California, near the cities of Port Hueneme and Oxnard. It is also a name applied to the near by Naval Air Station and test range facility known by various names over the years, including Pacific Missile Test Center and Naval Air Missile Test Center.

The Mugu Rock is a distinctive feature of the coastal promontory. The Rock was formed when a path for the Pacific Coast Highway was cut through the mountain thus forming the massive feature.

The facility adjacent to Point Mugu was developed in the late 1940s as the U.S.Navy's major missile development and test facility. This facility was the site where most of the Navy's missiles were developed and tested during the 1950/1960 era, including the Sparrow family and the Pheonix air-to-air, Bullpup air-to-surface, and Regulus surface-to-surface missiles.

The naval air base has dominated the area since the 1940s, and is one of the few places in the area that is not agricultural. The base has been home to many ordnance testing programs, and the test range extends down to the Navy-owned San Nicolas Island in the Channel Islands.

Until the late 1990s, the base hosted Antarctic Development Squadron SIX (VXE-6), the squadron of LC-130s equipped to land on ice in Antarctica, to supply the science stations there. Now, the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing has assumed that responsibility.

Outside of the naval base, there is also Point Mugu State Park, which is an excellent site for viewing birds, marine mammals, and wildflowers and provides about 15,000 acres (61 km²) of protected land including beaches, riparian areas, and coastal hills and canyons. Between the park and the naval base, Mugu Lagoon provides one of the largest coastal wetlands in Southern California that has not been largely developed. Surfing in the area is reported to be good.

Point Mugu is well known for being the site where Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed, killing all 88 passengers and crew aboard.