Marina del Rey is a seaside unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California. Its population at the 2000 U. Census was 8,176. Its Fisherman's Village offers a view of Marina del Rey's dominant feature as one of the largest man-made small boat harbors in the U., with 19 marinas with capacity for 5,300 boats. The harbor, the Los Angeles Times said in 1997, is "perhaps the county's most valuable resource."

Marina del Rey is southeast of Venice and north of Playa del Rey near the mouth of the Ballona Creek. It is located four miles (6 km) north of Los Angeles International Airport.

It is bounded on all sides by the City of Los Angeles. The beach-style homes, the strip of land against the beach, and the beach itself (see photo), west of the harbor, are within the City of Los Angeles limits, with a Marina del Rey address. The name of this strip is the Marina Peninsula. Via Dolce and the southern portion of Via Marina are the boundaries between L.A. City and the unincorporated area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Marina del Rey has an area of 1.5 mi². Nine-tenths of a square mile is land and 0.6 square mile is water. The marina itself, a specially designed harbor with moorings for pleasure craft and small boats, is surrounded by high-rise condos, hotels, apartments, shops, and restaurants. The area also includes the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which regulates the Internet's address and domain name systems.

The community is served by the three-mile-long Marina Freeway (State Route 90), which links Marina del Rey directly to Interstate 405 and nearby Culver City. Marina del Rey is in area codes 310 and 424. Its ZIP code is 90292. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors operates parks. The Burton W. Chase Park has barbecues, harbor viewing areas, multi-purpose rooms, pergolas, guest docks, picnic shelters, and picnic tables.

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