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San Diego California and the Bay Area
colored relief map
Satellite imagery Provided Courtesy of NASA "Planetary Photo
Journal" -
From the Planet Earth Gallery at NASA
Other Sources of satellite imagery include
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San Diego, city in southwestern California and seat of San Diego County. The second largest city in California (after Los Angeles), San Diego is a port of entry on San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The city is located in a productive farm region. San Diego covers an area of about 839 sq km (324 sq mi).
Population
San Diego is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the
United States. Its population grew from 875,538 in 1980 to 1,110,549 in 1990.
According to the 1990 census,
San Diego had one of the highest percentages of
residents who had recently moved. The census also showed that whites comprise
67.1 percent of the population; people of Asian origin, 11.8 percent; blacks,
9.4 percent; and Native Americans, 0.6 percent. Hispanics, who may also be
counted among other groups, represent 20.7 percent of the city's residents.
Economy
The city is a manufacturing and agricultural trade center and
the transportation hub for much of southern
California, parts of
Arizona and
New
Mexico, and nearby northwestern
Mexico. Major Pacific fishing fleets are based
here, and the city has a large shipbuilding industry. It also is an important
center for developing and manufacturing aerospace and electronic equipment.
Other products include printed materials, machinery, fabricated metal products,
processed food, furniture, clothing, and chemicals. The city's economy is also
driven by a large United States Navy shipyard and other defense-related
industries. San Diego's equable climate, its extensive sand beaches, and its
many cultural attractions make it a popular retirement spot and a year-round
vacation and convention center.
San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium is the home of the
Chargers of professional football and the Padres of professional baseball. The
city is served by
San Diego International Airport.
Educational and Cultural Institutions
San Diego is the seat of
San Diego State University (1897);
the University of California-San Diego (1912), which includes the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography (1903); the University of
San Diego (1949); United
States International University (1952); and an extensive junior college system.
San Diego's cultural activities draw millions of tourists
each year. Balboa Park is a central attraction and contains the
San Diego Zoo,
one of the world's most extensive zoos; the
San Diego Museum of Art; the Old
Globe Theatre, a reproduction of Shakespeare's theater in
England; Fleet Space
and Science Center; the Aerospace Museum; the Natural History Museum; and the
Hall of Champions, a sports museum. Elsewhere in the city are Sea World, a large oceanarium; the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Civic Theatre,
where the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and opera and ballet companies perform.
The historic Old Town district and the Gaslamp Quarter contain museums and
examples of 19th-century buildings. The Cabrillo National Monument, located on
Point Loma, memorializes Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the first European to discover
the present site of
San Diego. Palomar Observatory is near
San Diego, in
Cleveland National Forest.
History
San Diego's excellent deepwater harbor was entered in 1542 by
the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. Sixty years later Sebastián
Vizcaíno, a Spanish navigator, visited the site of the city and named the bay
either for San Diego de Alcalá (Saint Didacus) or for his flagship, the
San Diego. In 1769 Spaniards led by Father Junípero Serra established California's
first presidio and its first mission (restored 1931) here. A community, centered
at the presidio, developed slowly, and by the early 1800s it had a small trade
in furs. Commerce at the harbor increased in 1827 when
San Diego began to export
cattle hides to New England. In 1846 the United States gained control of the
community from Mexico, and from 1850 to 1870 it was known as an important
whaling center. The coming of the railroad in 1884 spurred growth, which
accelerated in the 20th century, particularly after 1940, with the establishment
of military installations and defense-related industries. During the 1980s the
city developed Horton Plaza, a shopping and entertainment facility, and it
renovated the Gaslamp Quarter. During the early 1990s
San Diego's economy
suffered because of the closing of a number of naval facilities.
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(c) 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Last Revised: October 11, 2006 11:21 PM.
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