Twenty-two miles from the mainland, Catalina Island is 21 miles long and 8 miles wide, with Avalon the principal town. The settlement of Two Harbors at Catalina's isthmus is about three-fourths of the way toward the island's northwest end. Although Gabrielino Indians settled the island circa 500 B.C., it was not discovered by Europeans until 1542, when Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo found it during his search for the mythical passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. During its Spanish-Mexican period, Catalina was used as a smuggling and piracy base. Learn More...