Industrial and harbour development was stimulated by the discovery of oil (petroleum) in 1921 at Signal Hill, and Long Beach expanded with the post-World War II growth of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It possesses tideland oil rights, and offshore city derricks are concealed as skyscrapers on landscaped islands. Land subsidence caused by the draining of oil pools has been contained by injections of seawater. In 1933 a severe earthquake caused widespread damage.

Connected to the Los Angeles harbour by Los Cerritos Channel, Long Beach possesses extensive docking and storage facilities; its port is one of the world's busiest. The city's economy is dominated by manufacturing and services; diversified industries include the production of aircraft and ships, as well as oil refining, food processing, and marine research. It is the seat of Long Beach City (community) College (1927) and California State University, Long Beach (1949). In 1967 the city purchased the historic British transatlantic liner Queen Mary, which is moored in the harbour and functions as a maritime museum, meeting centre, and hotel; it adjoins the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, one of the largest halls in the region. From 1983 to 1992 the legendary Spruce Goose airplane, built by Howard Hughes (Hughes, Howard), was on display in the city; the plane subsequently was moved to Portland, Oregon, and the cavernous dome that housed it was converted into a movie studio. The Aquarium of the Pacific, with more than 12,000 marine animals, is a popular attraction, as is the city's annual automobile race. The Long Beach Museum of Art (founded 1957) incorporates an oceanfront mansion built in 1912. Inc. town, 1888; city, 1897. Pop. (2000) city, 461,522; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale MD, 9,519,338; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana MSA, 12,365,627; (2006 est.) city, 472,494; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale MD, 9,948,081; Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana MSA, 12,950,129.

island and township in Ocean county, eastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies in the Atlantic Ocean 4–6 miles (6–10 km) offshore and shelters Little Egg Harbor and the southern portion of Barnegat Bay (both part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (Intracoastal Waterway)) from the ocean.

Extending 12 miles (19 km) southward from historic Barnegat Lighthouse (rebuilt in 1858; 165 feet 【50 metres】 high and near the scene of more than 200 shipwrecks in sailing-ship days), the narrow island includes a string of resorts, notably Loveladies (where there is a Foundation of Arts and Sciences), Harvey Cedars (Long Beach's oldest community; settled just after the War of 1812 and subsequently inhabited by whalers), Surf City, Ship Bottom (bridged to the mainland), Brant Beach, and Beach Haven (near the southern tip), which is known for its Surflight Summer Theatre. Long Beach was incorporated as a township in 1899. The island is a popular place for summer cottages and art colonies and has facilities for bathing, surfing, fishing, and boating. Pop. (1990) 3,407; (2000) 3,329.

first nuclear-powered surface warship, launched by the U.S. Navy in 1959. Displacing 14,000 tons, the Long Beach was classed as a cruiser but had a substantially larger below-deck space than conventionally powered ships of the same tonnage because of the compactness of its nuclear plant. It carried guided-missile armament and antisubmarine weapons and devices and was capable of remaining at sea for as much as six months at a time.