The Tijuana River Valley is a rural community in the southern section of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. It neighbors Imperial Beach to the north and west, Egger Highlands and Nestor to the north, San Ysidro to the east, and the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

to the south. Major thoroughfares include Hollister Street, Monument Road, and Dairy Mart Road.

History

The valley was home to the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the 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 Uni ...

people, who established the village of Melijo near Smuggler's Gulch. The area became part of

Rancho Melijo Rancho Melijo, or Milijo, was a Mexican land grant rancho, named after a local Kumeyaay village. It was later called Rancho La Punta for the location of the Arguello family ranch house, on a point of hills overlooking the south end of San Diego Ba ...

as part of a Mexican land grant to Santiago E. Argüello. The Tijuana River Valley, along with other portions of South San Diego, was annexed from

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

in 1957.

Facilities and landmarks

The community contains 71.5 miles of dirt roads and paths. A number of horse stables are located in the valley. The valley is home to the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, and is near Border Field State Park and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, both located in Imperial Beach.

Flooding

The Tijuana River Valley community is at risk of flooding from the Tijuana River. The Tijuana River is considerably polluted with trash, sewage, and other pollutants that threaten the valley community, and the community's environmental resources whenever it floods. Flooding is contained for the most part during dry periods. Yet when it rains the risk of floods and the associated pollution are a significant problem for the Tijuana River Valley. In addition to damage to the Valley's environmental and recreational resources, the pollution present in the floodwaters can spread diseases. Area beaches had almost 1,600 closed days because of this pollution between 2007 and 2017, far more than beaches North of the Valley.

References

{{Coord, 32, 33, 5, N, 117, 5, 24, W, type:adm3rd_dim:5000, display=title Neighborhoods in San Diego Valleys of San Diego County, California South Bay (San Diego County)