coast prone to mudslides, and sits beneath a geologically unstable formation. In 1909, a devastating mudslide occurred approximately one-half mile north of the town, and in 2005 slides closed Highway 101 in both directions, trapping residents. Sandwiched between a steep, unstable hillside (with the La Conchita Ranch Company situated on the plateau directly over the community), and the Pacific Ocean, La Conchita has been the site of recent major mudslides: On March 4, 1995 at 2:03pm, a mudslide buried or damaged seven homes, injuring no one. After the main failure, the weather forecast predicted more rain for the following week. On March 10, 1995, a debris flow occurred in the canyon west of the March 4 slide, damaging four or five more residences and a banana plantation. On January 10, 2005 at 12:30pm, a massive mudslide buried four blocks of the town in over of earth. Ten people were killed by the slide and 14 were injured. Of the 166 homes in the community, fifteen were destroyed and sixteen more were tagged by the county as uninhabitable. La Conchita Ranch Co. was sued by those affected by the 2005 landslide. A settlement was reached, giving the plaintiffs the company's assets and $5 million. References External links Official website of the La Conchita community La Conchita Residents Stay Despite Known Risks, a National Public Radio story from January 2005 Landslide Hazards at La Conchita, California by the USGS – A full report of landslides at La Conchita January 2005 California Landslide, a USGS article of the 2005 slide Aerial photo from California Coastal Records Project Wide view aerial photo by Doc Searls showing evidence of previous landslides La Conchita, from photographer/journalist Debbie Stock Victims of La Conchita mudslide Recent Landslides In La Conchita, California Belong To Much Larger Prehistoric Slide – 2005 Science Daily article about a UC Santa Barbara geological analysis of La Conchita Populated coastal places in California Unincorporated communities in Ventura County, California Unincorporated communities in California