South Bay, also known as South County, is a region in southwestern San Diego County, California consisting of the cities and unincorporated communities of Bonita, Chula Vista,

Imperial Beach Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, Lincoln Acres, National City, and South San Diego.Herrera, Angelica P., Lee, Jerry , Palos, Guadalupe, and Torres-Vigil, Isabel
Cultural Influences in the Patterns of Long-Term Care Use Among Mexican American Family Caregivers
Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 27 No. 2, April 2008 p.146. Defined by its proximity to

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...

and the Mexico-United States border, the South Bay is a mix of heavy industrial complexes and shipyards alongside beaches and residential developments. One of its cities, Imperial Beach, bills itself as "Classic Southern California" for being relatively untouched in terms of other coastal cities.

History

The area encompassing the South Bay was originally inhabited by the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

peoples. Under Mexican rule, several Mexican land grants were established in the region, including

Rancho Janal Rancho Janal was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1829 by Governor José María de Echeandía to José Antonio Estudillo. The grant was located near present day Otay Mesa. A large portion of the grant is ...

Rancho Otay Rancho Otay was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1829 by Governor José María de Echeandía to Magdelena Estudillo. The grant in the present-day Otay Mesa area, extended along the Otay River, just west ...

, and

Rancho de la Nación Rancho de la Nación was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day southern San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John (Don Juan) Forster. The grant encompassed present-day National City, California, ...

. In the 1870s,

South Bay Salt Works The South Bay Salt Works is a salt factory in southern San Diego, near Chula Vista, in the South Bay region of San Diego County, California. Initially operating under the name La Punta Salt Works operations dating back to at least 1871, for a ...

began operations. National City was incorporated in 1887, Chula Vista in 1911, and Imperial Beach in 1956. South San Diego, including the communities of San Ysidro, Nestor, Palm City, and Otay Mesa, was annexed by the City of San Diego in 1957. The term "South Bay" has referred to the region since at least the early 20th century, with one reference dating from 1918. In October 2007, South Bay was quickly encroached upon by the Harris Fire, part of a series of fires that ravaged California in the 2007 Fire season. Traditionally more residential and calmer than North County, in 2010 regional cities were taking on projects that included the development of luxury resorts in efforts to revitalize the South Bay. On May 18, 2010, further development of the

Chula Vista Bayfront The Chula Vista Bayfront is a planned development on the San Diego Bay waterfront within Chula Vista, California, United States. The bayfront is undergoing major development under the project title ''Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan'', one of the ...

was authorized by the Unified Port of San Diego and City of Chula Vista. Plans included marina expansion, luxury resort development, and the addition of a conference center. Additionally, in Imperial Beach, on September 29, 2010 the Seacoast Inn was demolished to make room for a $20 million resort.

Geography

South Bay borders both

and the Pacific Ocean. The region is at the southern end of the bay and western slope of the coastal mountains to the east. There are a few creeks that make their way from these mountains with their terminus in either the southern end of the bay, the ocean, or the Tijuana River estuary. Its boundaries are the

on the west, the United States–Mexico border on the south, National City's border with northern San Diego and

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) * Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred to simply as "Coronado" * Coronado Chávez (1807–1881), President of Honduras from 1845 to 1847 Places United ...

to the north, and the unincorporated communities and Otay Lakes to the east.

Ecology

Nature preserve areas in South Bay include

San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an urban refuge located on San Diego Bay in San Diego County, California. It is part of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It was dedicated in June 1999. The refuge, comprising of salt m ...

Otay Mountain Wilderness The Otay Mountain Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in San Diego County, California, 12 miles east of the city of Otay Mesa and just north of the Mexican border. Some parts of the wilderness area rise quickly from sea level, reaching ...

Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge is located in the most southwestern corner of the contiguous United States. As a National Wildlife Refuge, it is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was established in 1980. The refuge fo ...

and

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is a natural reserve in Imperial Beach, California and San Ysidro, San Diego. It encompasses the Tijuana River Estuary, located on the Mexico–United States border. It is divided into two parts ...

. The Tijuana River Estuary is located on the southern coast of South Bay. The river which feeds it has a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

that drains from both Tijuana Municipality and San Diego County. There have been problems with the cleanliness of the estuary, from the Tijuana part of the watershed, which has led to constructive measures with efforts to clean the water. Located within the Tijuana River National Estuarine Reserve, the Tijuana River estuary is the largest wetland in Southern California. The wetland supports over 370 species of migratory and year-round dwelling waterfowl.

Demographics

The population was 462,843 , an 18.3% increase from 2000. South Bay is the third-largest region of Greater San Diego in population, ahead of East County and behind North County. The South Bay is known for its relatively large immigrant population, with many first-generation Mexican-Americans and Filipino-Americans. 26% of San Diego County's Hispanic population, the vast majority of which is of Mexican origin, lives in the South Bay. , descendants of the early explorers of Alta California continue to live in the South Bay. As of 2010, South San Diego, National City and Chula Vista have Hispanic majorities, while Imperial Beach has a Hispanic plurality and Bonita has a non-Hispanic white plurality.

Communities

Populations are from the 2010 Census with the exception of Lincoln Acres.

Incorporated cities

* Chula Vista - 243,916 * South San Diego, San Diego - 107,631 * National City - 58,582 *

- 26,324

Census-designated places

* Bonita - 12,538

Unincorporated communities

* Lincoln Acres - approx. 2,100

Federal military reservations

Naval Base San Diego Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, cons ...

, San Diego * Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, Imperial Beach * Silver Strand Training Complex, Coronado

Education

Primary and secondary schools

South Bay is served by the

Sweetwater Union High School District The Sweetwater Union High School District is a school district headquartered in Chula Vista, California. , the school district is the largest secondary school district in California. The union high school district serves over 42,000 high schoo ...

, Chula Vista Elementary School District, National School District, San Ysidro School District, and the South Bay Union School District. There are approximately fourteen high schools, fourteen middle schools, and numerous elementary schools. The South Bay area is also served by charter and private schools.

Colleges and universities

Located in Chula Vista is Southwestern College, a two-year community college and feeder school to University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University.

Government

The South County Regional Center contains the South Bay Courthouse of the San Diego Superior Court as well as offices for the San Diego County Sheriff, the San Diego District Attorney, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, and others. The center is located in downtown Chula Vista.

Media

Newspapers

South Bay is served by the

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

, whose website features a "South County" section that is largely congruent with South Bay, although the "South County" section includes

. South Bay also receives coverage from the weekly San Diego Reader. Chula Vista, National City, and Bonita are served by the weekly newspaper The Star-News, which was formed in 1954 upon the merger of the Chula Vista Star with the National City News. Imperial Beach is served by the weekly Imperial Beach and South County Eagle & Times. San Ysidro was once served by the weekly San Ysidro Border Press.

Radio

No radio station is licensed to any city in the South Bay area. The area is instead served by stations licensed to the Baja California municipalities of Tijuana and Tecate, all of which effectively cover the area. However,

XHLTN-FM XHLTN-FM is a commercial radio station in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, broadcasting on 104.5 MHz. It is owned by Grupo Imagen and carries its Radio Latina format. The station came on air in 1970. History Joaquín Vargas Gómez, founder ...

maintains a sales office in Chula Vista, and

XHGLX-FM XHGLX-FM ("Exa FM") is a commercial radio station broadcasting from Tijuana at 91.7 MHz. The station airs a Top 40 radio format. The programs and most of the music are presented in Spanish, while a number of English-language songs are also heard. ...

had a similar setup in National City, both stations sending data to cross-border control rooms. The area is also served by other San Diego area radio stations. During tropospheric ducting, the signals of out of market stations

KYSR KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial alternative radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving the Greater Los Angeles area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., KYSR is the flagship station of syndicated morning drive program ''The Woody Show''. T ...

, KBIG, KRTH, and KRUZ can reach the area, while sensitive radio tuners have picked up KIIS-FM on occasion.

Television

Terrestrial digital television stations KNSD and

KUSI-TV KUSI-TV (channel 51) is an independent television station in San Diego, California, United States. It is the sole property of locally based McKinnon Broadcasting Company. KUSI-TV's studios are located on Viewridge Avenue (near I-15) in the ...

have their transmitters on Mount San Miguel. The area is also served by

XETV XETV-TDT (channels 6 and 16) is a television station located in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, broadcasting programs from Canal 5 and NU9VE. Its terrestrial signal also covers the San Diego, California area across the international border in ...

and XHDTV. The selection of local stations on cable and satellite services vary by provider.

Landmarks

Important landmarks in South Bay include: * San Ysidro Port of Entry (Mexico-U.S. border crossing at San Ysidro) * Border Field State Park (includes Friendship Park) * The Tijuana River Estuary and

* The

North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre The North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre (formerly known as the Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Coors Amphitheatre and the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre) is a 20,500-seat amphitheatre located in Chula Vista, California a ...

* Imperial Beach Pier * Onstage Playhouse * The National City Depot *

Sweetwater Dam The Sweetwater Dam is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. It is located approximately east of San Diego, and borders Bonita to the southwest and La Presa to the northeast. The -high masonry arch dam impounds Sw ...

* Surfhenge. Image:US-MEX Fence TJ BorderField.jpg, Border Field State Park Image:Chulamall1.jpg, Chula Vista Shopping Center Image:Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.jpg, North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre Image:Imperial beach ca 2.jpg, Imperial Beach Pier Image:Imperial beach ca 1.jpg, Surfhenge in Imperial Beach File:SanYsidroBorderCrossing.JPG, San Ysidro Port of Entry File:Third Avenue Pride.jpg, Downtown Chula Vista File:F-16N A-4F NFWS over Lower Otay Reservoir 1991.JPEG,

Lower Otay Lake Lower Otay Reservoir is a reservoir in San Diego County, Southern California. It is flanked by Otay Mountain to the southeast, the Jamul Mountains to the east, Otay Lakes Road and Upper Otay Reservoir to the north, and the city of Chula Vista to ...

File:National_City_Depot_(National_City,_CA).jpg, National City Depot File:Bonita-reservoir.jpg, Sweetwater Reservoir

Politics

South Bay is located entirely within Supervisorial District 1 at the county level, which as of January 2021, will be represented by Democrat Nora Vargas, who will succeed outgoing supervisor Greg Cox.

References

External links

City of Chula Vista

City of National City

City of Imperial Beach

City of Coronado
{{California * San Diego Bay . Regions of California