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This was once a paradise of beautiful coasts framed by rugged mountains, wooded canyons, and sheltered coves, inhabited by a people known as the Chumash, a tribe that ranged from Malibu to San Luis Obispo, and as far inland as Santa Ynez, Cuyama, Santa Clara and Simi. They had called this village 'Humaliwo,' meaning "the surf sounds loudly." Here they fished for food, and skillfully carved bowls inlaid with colorful abalone shells and effigies of killer whales and other sea creatures. The people of this culture are gone now; all that remains are the names of their villages, many still used today: Cachuma, Calleguas, Camuloa, Cuyama, Matilija, Mugu, Ojai, Piru, Saticoy, Sespe, Sinil, Somis, Tapo, and Zuma.

When the Spanish explorers claimed these lands, they did not intend to destroy the peoples already inhabiting it. They co-existed with them, converted those they could to Christianity, and unfortunately spread diseases among them for which these tribes had no immunity. That first culture was replaced by smugglers and pirates and the the Spanish Dons, who eventually surrendered to the pressure of increasing immigration from the United States. Malibu, the ancient village of Humaliwo, was the last of the great Spanish Land Grants to yield.

The City of Malibu in northwestern Los Angeles County, incorporated on March 28, 1991. It has 21 miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean and a population of over 12,500.